Rodoviária Nacional
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Rodoviária Nacional was the
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bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
network in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, resulting from the nationalization, in 1975, of the largest bus operators in the country, basically the criteria used for nationalization was the fleet size : more than 60 vehicles.


Operations

The services were first organized in ten "Centros Operacionais de Passageiros" (COP) (Passenger Operational Centres) managing the activities of a similar number of nationalized
corporate group A corporate group or group of companies is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. These types of groups are often managed by an account manager. The concep ...
s, such organization meant a confusing geographical distribution of operations, so still in 1976 a reorganization into nine "Centros de Exploração de Passageiros" (CEP) (Passenger Managing Centres) settled on a more logical regional organization was set up. In 1977, CEP10 was created for managing hire and special services in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. This division along with other CEPs started to promote medium to long distance services that would be labeled as "Expresso" from 1979. The CEP10 headquarters and terminal for long distance services was located on former Claras Transportes' station at Av. Casal Ribeiro, opened in 1973. The passenger amenities and ticket booths were located on the ground floor, the arrival and departure lanes on the first underground level, the workshops and depot on the second underground level, parcels and cargo section on third underground level, for such reasons this station was known as "the cave". In 1984, the most of CEP5 and parts of CEP6 became the DGRL ("Direcção Regional da Grande Lisboa", or Regional Management of
Greater Lisbon Grande Lisboa () or Greater Lisbon is a former Portuguese NUTS III subregion integrated in the Lisboa Region. It was abolished at the January 2015 NUTS 3 revision. It is part of the historical Estremadura Province. It includes the capital and ...
) split in 4 COPs, the process of fleet reorganization would last until September 1986. Also in 1984,
Vila Franca de Xira Vila Franca de Xira () is a city and municipality in the Lisbon District in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 137,659, in an area of 318.19 km2. Situated on both banks of the Tagus River, 32 km north-east of the Portuguese capital L ...
,
Arruda dos Vinhos Arruda dos Vinhos () is a municipality in the Lisbon District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,391,Alenquer (all from CEP6),
Torres Vedras Torres Vedras () is a municipality in the Portuguese district of Lisbon, approximately north of the capital Lisbon in the Oeste region, in the Centro of Portugal. The population was 83,075, in an area of . History In 1148, Afonso I took th ...
(CEP4) and
Ericeira Ericeira () is a civil parish and seaside community on the western coast of Portugal (in Mafra municipality, about 45km northwest of Lisbon) considered the surfing capital of Europe for being the only European spot among the World Surfing Reserves ...
/
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(CEP5) corridors were passed to CEP10. The creation of DGRL along with CEP10 incorporations meant the extinction of CEP5 and CEP6. A cargo section was also created, operating under the name RNTrans.


Ultrena

This division was created to manage other activities from nationalized companies, such as the floriculture business of Arboricultora (from Caneças), the car hiring operations from Claras, or EVA Hotel (EVA stands for Empresa de Viação Algarve, or Algarve Road Transport Company). The workshops were also managed by Ultrena.


Numbering

The coach fleet was numbered with four digits, corresponding the first to the CEP which the vehicle was affected (if the vehicle belonged to CEP 8, its fleet number would be 8xxx). For CEP 10 fleet, the first digit was a 0 (0xxx), the DGRL was three digit, preceded by the letter L (Lisboa) or CS (
Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...
and
Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated ...
) (L-xxx, CS-xxx), with the numbering strictly distributed by chassis manufacturer.


The RNIP

In order to
privatize Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
the operator in 1991 RN became RNIP ("Rodoviária Nacional Investimentos e Participações" : RN Investments and Participations), the CEP's were renamed as: CEP1 - Rodoviária de Entre Douro e Minho (REDM) - managing Northwest of Portugal, from
Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
. CEP2 - Rodoviária da Beira Litoral (RBL) - managing the coast side of central Portugal, from
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
. CEP3 - Rodoviária da Beira Interior (RBI) - managing the inland central Portugal, from Castelo Branco. CEP4 -
Rodoviária do Tejo Rodoviária do Tejo, S.A. is a regional bus company in Portugal. History The company was founded in 1860 as João Clara & Companhia (Irmãos) Limitada and later became Claras Transportes S.A.R.L. In 1975, the company was nationalized as part of R ...
- managing the regions of middle
Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...
( Santarém,
Torres Novas Torres Novas () is a Portuguese municipality in the district of Santarém, in the Médio Tejo of the Centro region. The population of the municipality was approximately 36,717 (from the 2011 census), with the city of Torres Novas (seat of the muni ...
,
Abrantes Abrantes () is a concelho, municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal, central Médio Tejo Subregion, Médio Tejo subregion of Portugal. The population was 39,325, in an area of . The municipality includes several parishes divided by the Tagus ...
,
Tomar Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a city and a municipality in the Santarém district of Portugal. The town proper has a population of about 20,000. The municipality population in 2011 was 40,677, in an a ...
), Fátima,
Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...
and West Region (
Caldas da Rainha Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district of Leiria. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality of the same name and of the Comunidad ...
, Peniche, Alcobaça) from Torres novas. DGRL (former CEP 5) - Rodoviária de Lisboa (RL) - managing the Lisbon Greater Metropolitan area, the north bank of Tagus (
Loures Loures () is a city and a municipality in Portugal which is part of the Lisbon District, District and Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Metropolitan area of Lisbon. It is the fifth most populous municipality in the country, with a total population of 201, ...
,
Alverca Alverca do Ribatejo () is a city (''cidade'') and a former civil parish in the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Alverca do Ribatejo e Sobralinho. It covers an area of and had a pop ...
,
Odivelas Odivelas ( or ) is a city and a municipality in Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal, in the Lisbon District and the historical and cultural Estremadura Province. The municipality is located 10 km northwest of Lisbon. The present Mayor is Hugo ...
,
Amadora Amadora () is a municipality and urbanized city in the northwest of the Lisbon metropolitan area and 10 km from central Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 175,136, in an area of 23.78 km² (9.2 sq mi). It is the most densely populated mun ...
, Oeiras, Sintra and Cascais) from Lisbon (Av. do Brasil). CEP6 - Ceased operations in 1984, due to incorporation of its activities on CEP10 and DGRL. CEP7 - Rodoviária Sul do Tejo (RST) - managing the south bank of Tagus of Lisbon area (
Almada Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population in 2011 was 174,030, in a ...
,
Seixal Seixal () is a Portugal, Portuguese city and municipality, located in the district of Setúbal District, Setúbal, in the metropolitan area of Lisbon region, Lisbon. Its population includes 184,269 inhabitants (2011), in an area of that includes ...
) from Laranjeiro. CEP8 - Rodviária do Alentejo - managing the whole
Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...
and most of
Ribatejo The Ribatejo () is the most central of the traditional provinces of Portugal, with no coastline or border with Spain. The region is crossed by the Tagus river (''Ribatejo'' translates to "upper Tagus", or more precisely, "up the Tagus" relative ...
, from Azeitão. CEP9 - Rodoviária do Algarve - managing the
Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...
region, from Faro. CEP10 - Rodoviária da Estremadura, managing Vila Franca and Torres Vedras corridors and express services, from Lisboa (Av. Casal Ribeiro).


Privatization

In 1992, the privatization process started, with Rodoviária do Algarve being acquired by Barraqueiro Transportes, REDM by Resende, Caima and Barraqueiro, as well as the cargo sections (that became known as Rodocargo and Transporta). In 1993, RBL by Barraqueiro, Rodoviária do Tejo by REDM, Joalto and AVIC, RBI by Joalto and Rodoviária do Alentejo by Barraqueiro and Belos family (that recovered their nationalized company). In 1994, Rodoviária da Estremadura was acquired by Barraqueiro. Finally in 1995 Rodoviária Sul do Tejo and Rodoviária de Lisboa were privatized, the latter to Innotrans consortium (led by Barraqueiro and supported by
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) () is a Portuguese state-owned banking corporation, and the largest bank in Portugal, established in Lisbon in 1876. CGD now has presence in 23 countries spanning four continents through branches, representative ...
), which subsequently was split through the following companies: * COP 1 (Amadora, Queluz and Cacém) operations sold to Vimeca (owned by Brazilian Imorey Group) that created the brand Lisboa Transportes for such operations; * COP 2 and 3 (Caneças, Odivelas, Loures, Sacavém and Santa Iria da Azoia) kept Rodoviária de Lisboa brand and Barraqueiro ownership; * COP 4 (Cascais and Sintra) sold to
Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
.


Post Privatization

Rodoviária do Algarve was immediately renamed as EVA, remembering the nationalized Empresa de Viação Algarve. Rodoviária Sul do Tejo became, in late 1990s, TST -
Transportes Sul do Tejo Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Vila Franca de Xira Vila Franca de Xira () is a city and municipality in the Lisbon District in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 137,659, in an area of 318.19 km2. Situated on both banks of the Tagus River, 32 km north-east of the Portuguese capital L ...
, Alenquer, Sobral de Monte Agraço, Arruda dos Vinhos), EVM - Mafrense (
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and Ericeira), Barraqueiro Oeste (Torres Vedras, Lourinhã, Cadaval) and Barraqueiro, for Frielas operations. REDM and RBL operations owned by Caima (Neves family), were taken by
Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. History The group was formed by the merger of V ...
, known respectively as Transdev Norte and Transdev Centro. RBI brand still exists and is owned by Joalto Group, who sold their operations to
Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. History The group was formed by the merger of V ...
in 2010. Stagecoach sold its operations to Vimeca owners in the early 2000s and a new operator was born, ScottUrb (an acronym for Sintra Cascais Oeiras - Transportes Terrestres Urbanos, or Terrestrial Urban Transport). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodoviaria Nacional Bus companies of Portugal