TOMA bus on Rua Heróis da Grande Guerra

TOMA is the local bus service in Caldas da Rainha, a medium-sized city in western central Portugal. Toma means "take this" in Portuguese, commemorating everyman figure Zé Povinho, whose image appears on the buses. Service was inaugurated by the Câmara Municipal (municipal chamber, or city council) on 15 May 2007, the municipal holiday.

System overview

TOMA service consists of three routes: Linha Azul (Blue Line), Linha Laranja (Orange Line), and Linha Verde (Green Line). The Blue line uses two minibuses and runs between the western and eastern ends of town. The Orange and Green lines each operate using a single twenty-nine-seat minibus on loop routes.[1]

The Orange and the Green lines were inaugurated on 15 May 2007, as part of the first phase of TOMA service.[2] In May 2008, the municipality announced TOMA's third route, the Blue Line, which serves the northern areas of the city not included in the two first-phase routes. The new route operates using two buses, rather than the single bus used by each of the other two routes.[3] Introduction of the new line was delayed, because the company that won the bid to operate the line decided not to undertake the project after all.[4] The municipality inaugurated the new route on 19 September 2009, Public Transport Day.[2]

TOMA service runs from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 8:00 a.m to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays, with no service on Sundays. All routes operate at 30–35-minute intervals, except for non-rush hour service on the Blue Line, which runs hourly.[5][6][7][8]

Since 16 August 2011, a trip on TOMA costs €1.10 without a pass and €0.55 with a pass, called TTT – Título de Transporte do TOMA. Passengers receive volume discounts for purchasing multiple trips simultaneously. They can also purchase passes for unlimited rides for given number of days.[9] On January 9, 2008, the city council announced that persons in wheelchairs would ride free of charge.[10]

Linha Azul (Blue Line)

On westbound trips, the Linha Azul (Blue Line) stops at:[5]

On eastbound trips, the Linha Azul (Blue Line) stops at:[6]

Linha Laranja (Orange Line)

The Linha Laranja (Orange Line) is a unidirectional loop route which stops at:[7]

Linha Verde (Green Line)

The Linha Verde (Green Line) is a unidirectional loop route which stops at:[8]

References

  1. ^ Gomes, Francisco. "Tomar o autocarro na cidade". Jornal Oeste Online. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Aboim, João (4 September 2009). "Reformular os transportes públicos entre Caldas da Rainha e a Tornada". Gazeta das Caldas (in Portuguese). pp. 32–33. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Cidade Nova, Bairro Azul e zona dos museus contemplados: Toma vai ter novos trajectos", Jornal da Caldas, May 21, 2008
  4. ^ "Concurso para Linha Azul do Toma anulado por suspeitas da Câmara", Jornal das Caldas, October 15, 2008
  5. ^ a b "Horário da Linha Azul - Sentido Nascente Poente (RugbyColégio).pdf". Município das Caldas da Rainha. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Horário da Linha Azul - Sentido Poente Nascente (Mercado).pdf". Município das Caldas da Rainha. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Horário da Linha Laranja.pdf". Município das Caldas da Rainha. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Horário da Linha Verde.pdf" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Município das Caldas da Rainha. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Tabela de Preços do Transporte Público" (PDF). Município das Caldas da Rainha. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Utentes em cadeira de rodas não pagam viagem nos TOMA". Município das Caldas da Rainha. Retrieved 24 January 2014.

External links

Categories