Parques de Sintra

On 1 April, Parques de Sintra will begin the circulation of three new hybrid buses in the Park of Pena, which were ordered especially for environmentally responsible transport between the Park gate and the Palace entrance. Worth around 375,000 euros, this acquisition makes it possible for the Park and Palace’s almost 800,000 annual visitors to journey between these two key points in a vehicle with panoramic views and minimal exhaust emission and noise.

The new buses, of the latest hybrid technology, will replace the older, noisier and high-volume, diesel models. The old buses were not very environmentally friendly and were not well adapted to the profile of the existing routes in the Park of Pena.

In a project that took around 5 months, these buses were especially designed for Parques de Sintra by Mobipeople, and they are perfectly suited to the routes inside the Park of Pena: they are smaller in size, more compact and allow greater enjoyment of the journey and closer contact with nature by being convertible and having the possibility of the side windows being removed. And, most importantly, they are more environmentally efficient, minimising particulate emission in the atmosphere while reducing fuel consumption by around 20%.

Each bus holds up to 35 people, including a place for a wheelchair. On the part of Parques de Sintra there was a concern that the new buses should be fitted with an elevation platform to give easy access to people with disabilities. This forms part of the Parques de Sintra’s project “Parques de Sintra Acolhem Melhor”/”Parques de Sintra Welcome Better”, which aims to improve the enjoyable experience of the parks and monuments for those with reduced mobility.

To use this return service between the Park gate and the Palace entrance, visitors should purchase a ticket at a price of 3 euros (free for children up to the age of 5). The ticket includes, from mid-April, a personal audio system with information on the Park and Palace in 5 languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and German.

Although the regular bus route is only as discussed above, these buses were developed so as to have energy self-sufficiency and approval to drive on public roads (with registration), which allows them to travel between the different sites under the management of Parques de Sintra. They will also be used for internal company events and private events.

This is a complementary service and is different to that offered by the Hop On Hop Off electric cars currently active in the Parks of Pena and Monserrate during the high season and which allow the visitors to get on and off at different points of the Park. In the case of the buses currently being launched the service offers transport between the Park gate and the Palace entrance, and not a route through the whole Park.