Lisbon Expats Brace for 18 September Carris Bus Shutdown

Lisbon’s bus network is heading toward a full-day stand-still in mid-September, and anyone who depends on Carris to reach work, language school or the airport will want to make alternate plans sooner rather than later. Drivers and mechanics have voted to down tools for 24 hours on 18 September after talks with management stalled over shorter shifts and compensation for travel between depots.

Why 18 September could be a long day on the road

The planned 24-hour stoppage falls on a Thursday, traditionally one of the busiest commuter days in the capital. Previous Carris walkouts this year caused service levels to plunge to single digits; transport officials privately admit the upcoming action could have a near-total shutdown effect unless last-minute arbitration forces the company to run minimum routes. For foreign residents unfamiliar with Portugal’s industrial-relations calendar, it is worth noting that strikes rarely get called off once the formal notice period has begun.

The sticking points at the bargaining table

Union federation FECTRANS says the workforce will no longer accept "good-will" promises on two matters: an across-the-board 35-hour week and clear rules for paying the deslocações—the journeys staff make to and from relief points where they take over buses mid-route. Carris management argues that cutting every schedule by 5 hours a week would require hundreds of extra hires the company cannot currently finance. A working group set up in May to phase in shorter rosters failed to produce a timeline, fuelling anger among rank-and-file drivers who already secured a pay rise for 2025 but insist that "time, not money, is now the currency that counts."

What the city hall and the operator can realistically do

Lisbon City Council, the sole shareholder of Carris, has limited room for manoeuvre. Under Portuguese law the municipality must ask an arbitration court to impose serviços mínimos on essential lines—usually the hospital, airport and university corridors. In March a similar court order forced 100 % coverage on routes 703, 708 and 758, yet actual bus departures barely hit 40 % because too few staff volunteered. City transport planners are therefore drafting a plan B that involves rerouting Metro de Lisboa trains at off-peak headways and encouraging CP suburban rail to honour Carris tickets on overlapping corridors, though neither measure has been officially confirmed.

Likely pain points for foreign riders

Every strike plays out differently, but experience suggests three pressure points for newcomers:

Early-morning flights from Humberto Delgado Airport often depart before the metro opens, making the overnight 208 and 744 buses the sole public option; both are at risk.

Hilltop neighbourhoods such as Graça, Castelo and Campo de Ourique rely almost exclusively on surface transport; expect long taxi queues and surge pricing on ride-share apps.

Commuters living across the river in Almada who depend on Carris’ ferry-bus feeders should budget extra time to transfer to Fertagus or bus operators that do not share the Carris ticketing system.

How other operators tackled the 35-hour debate

Supporters of a shorter week point to experiments in France and Iceland, yet Portugal’s public-transport record is mixed. Metro do Porto’s sister company STCP gradually trimmed rosters by hiring part-time retirees, a move that kept costs stable but only worked because the network is smaller and flatter. Comboios de Portugal (CP), by contrast, shelved its own 35-hour pilot after overtime payments ballooned. Carris executives argue that Lisbon’s hilly topography and chronic traffic require more recovery time per circuit, making a direct copy-paste unfeasible—at least without the €25 M annual subsidy hike the council has so far refused to grant.

Survival guide for the September stoppage

Bookable alternatives will vanish quickly. Consider snagging a GIRA bike-share pass or loading zapping credit onto your Viva card to ride the metro if turnstiles get congested. International schools will likely circulate shuttle arrangements; check parent portals. Finally, keep an eye on Carris’ official X (Twitter) feed and the city’s "Lisboa 24" app—both usually publish any court-mandated minimum timetable the evening before a strike.

What to watch after the dust settles

If the 18 September protest forces management back to the table, insiders say a phased-in 37.5-hour week could emerge as a compromise. Should talks collapse, union officials have already pencilled in rolling walk-outs for late October, coinciding with Web Summit and putting conference visitors in the cross-hairs. In other words, Lisbon’s autumn transport landscape may remain turbulent, and expats would be wise to keep their mobility plans flexible.