Improving traffic and the residents’ quality of life were the two main reasons behind the Lisbon City Council's decision to ban tuk-tuks from the old city, approved unanimously in November 2024. Starting April 1, 2025, visitors looking for a tour around the historic quarters, including Alfama and Mouraria, will have to find alternatives.
During a July 2024 press conference, vice-mayor Filipe Anacoreta Correia expressed the need to regulate the licensing of new tuk-tuks, which grew from around 700 in 2019 to nearly one thousand in 2024. Residents who live in the historic center complain about tuk-tuk drivers’ dangerous driving, illegal parking, and blocking traffic.
Tuk-tuk drivers, who rely on tourism for income, see the new rules as discriminatory and vow to fight the law. Inês Henriques, a spokesperson for the tuk-tuk drivers’ association (ANCAT – Associação Nacional de Condutores de Animação Turística), told local newspaper Público: "Finding solutions shouldn’t be about denying access. This order is highly discriminatory and illegal. City Councils do not have the power to prevent economic activity or invent laws.”
The organization is open to dialogue and to negotiate mutually beneficial changes to the new regulations. As a last resort, if an agreement isn’t reached, they consider taking legal action against the City Council, hoping to stop the law’s implementation or, at least, delay it.
Currently, these are the areas you won't be able to visit by tuk-tuk starting April, 1, 2025: Terreiro do Paco, Castelo, Bairro Alto, Bica, Alfama, Mouraria, Chiado (Largo do Carmo), and Cais do Sodré (Largo de Sao Paulo). Miradouro da Senhora do Monte is also off limits after 7:00 PM.