New Carris president selected by Lisbon mayor following Gloria elevator tragedy

The Mayor of Lisbon City Council, Carlos Moedas, has chosen Rui Lopo as the new president of Lisbon’s public transport company Carris which operates the city’s buses, trams and funiculars.

Rui Lopo who currently is the CEO of Transportes Metropolitan de Lisboa, should take up the role in January after councillors vote on the candidate on December 10.

In a note sent to TV station SIC, Carlos Moedas considered Rui Lopo to be the “clear choice” to manage Carris because of his “proven track record” in the transport sector and that he was the best candidate to “defend the future of the company and the challenges that Carris faces”.

Rui Lopo will succeed Pedro de Brito Bogas, who resigned in October following the preliminary report on the Elevador da Glória accident.

According to the mayor, Rui Lopo played a “decisive role” in coordinating the project for Carris’ ‘Metropolitan’ and ‘Navegante’ travel card passes – Lisbon’s answer to London’s Oyster card.

Carlos Moedas described Rui Lopo as a “safe pair of hands for a new cycle, with a huge capacity for technical management, with recognised sectoral credibility, and with great capabilities when managing large projects”.

The Glória Funicular in Lisbon is closed indefinitely after a devastating accident on September 3 where a broken cable caused it to derail, killing 16 people and injuring many more, leading to investigations into faulty maintenance, non-compliant parts, and failures in its braking system, with recommendations for major redesigns and new safety protocols before it can reopen.