Dropping off and picking up students has never been easier in Porto’s streets

More schools in the city of Porto are included in the "kiss & ride" system, the expedited transfer point that provides a safer perimeter for parents and tutors to drop off students.

The "kiss & ride" system is applied in more streets in Porto and that is very necessary not only to avoid hectic traffic nearby schools, but also to prevent double parking. This takes place in the weeks that see more students going back to schools, following the easing of restrictions during this second lockdown in the country, due to the novel coronavirus.

The idea here is that rapid transit improves the commute for everyone, by keeping a special lane for dropping off a loved-one. Each stop must not exceed 10 minutes time in order to expedite the transfer of commuters from family vehicles.

The first quarter of 2021 has seen four new areas nearby schools adopt the Kiss & Ride system, namely EB 2,3 Irene Lisboa (Rua de Cervantes), EB Torrinha (Rua da Torrinha), EB João de Deus (Rua de João de Deus) and EB Paulo da Gama (Rua Paulo da Gama). The blue marking on the pavement identifies the shared spots for dropping off loved ones to school. Speed limit at these points is 20 Km/h and the goal is to slow down the traffic movement, thus increasing safety and overall traffic mobility.

The project kick started in 2016 and has expanded throughout the past years to other school areas where traffic constraints reveal hazardous, with a hectic rush hour that corresponds to the beginning and the end of each working day.

The Kiss & Ride system is estimated to be implemented in another 50 school areas, nearby private and public schools by the end of the year, in a municipal investment that reaches 50 thousand euros.

Porto City Hall monitors the effectiveness of the measure, in cooperation with schools and trough awareness campaigns jointly developed with the Municipal Police, in the scope of the “Escola Segura” [Safe School] programme.