A #CrossBorderBus4EUcitizens between Chaves and Verin

Pablo Rivera Búa is the Executive Director of the Eurocity Chaves-Verin EGTC, that was selected among the successful cases of the 2nd call for proposal to receive advices from a legal expert. More in detail, the team of the EGTC needed some help to understand how overcoming some obstacles that were preventing the setting up of a regular cross-border passenger bus service between the two cities.

Here, his words on the impact of b-solutions on the Eurocity:

"Without a doubt, b-solutions has greatly helped to link the neighbouring cities of Chaves in northern Portugal and Verín across the border in Spain, fostering deeper territorial cooperation and social cohesion. First, because we could identify the legal/administrative dispositions causing the cross-border transport obstacles, and subsequently, we could outline a specific roadmap with all the steps necessary to launch a future regular cross-border transport line. Second, because, in parallel, we managed to launched an occasional passenger transport cross-border service (the TUT), between Chaves &Verin, free of charge, during major cultural events and weekly fairs to meet the needs of the “Eurocitizens”. It is the first cross-border urban transport initiative in an Eurocity. Currently, the EGTC Eurocity Chaves-Verín is implementing the roadmap proposed by the expert. This will allow connecting the Eurocity regularly while giving access to the eurocitizens (55k inhabitants) to a wide range of joint cultural, sport and training activities on both sides of the border, increasing cross-border labour mobility, improving access to healthcare in the common territory and promoting tourism. Thanks to the contribution of the external expert, it was possible to identify the existing obstacles, carry out a technical and legal analysis of the problem and propose a roadmap for solving the obstacles, in order to allow the service to start up. I would highly recommend that other Eurocities, constituted or not as EGTCs, take part in the next b-solutions calls because this kind of mini-projects make possible to solve existing obstacles in the border regions, with clear results on the ground, allowing to reinforce the economic and social cohesion of the border areas while improving the quality of life of its citizens".