Guide
Smoking on Lisbon's metro, buses, trams, ferries and trains
Public transport in Lisbon is covered directly by national tobacco law and by each operator's own conditions of carriage, and the prohibition reaches beyond the vehicle itself into stations and stops. Here is where the boundary actually sits, mode by mode.
Last checked: September 2026
In short
Smoking is banned inside metro, bus, tram, train and ferry vehicles and, importantly, in the covered stations and access areas that serve them: Metropolitano de Lisboa states explicitly that the ban covers its vehicles and installations serving the public, including terminal and intermediate stations and all their access points and adjoining establishments, with fines of up to €500; Carris' passenger duties list not smoking on board as a legal obligation under its conditions of carriage. Open-air bus stops, tram stops and platforms without a roof generally fall outside the enclosed-space ban and follow ordinary outdoor rules, but covered station halls, ticket areas and connecting corridors do not — treat any covered, walled transport interior as no-smoking.
Key points
- Metro's own rules extend the smoking ban to stations, all access points and adjoining installations, not just trains.
- Carris treats not smoking on board buses, trams and funiculars as a legal passenger duty.
- Covered station halls and corridors count as enclosed space; open, unroofed stops generally do not.
- Fines for smoking in covered metro premises can reach €500.
- Taxis and ride-hailing cars are the driver's call, and in practice almost always no-smoking.
Metro
Metropolitano de Lisboa's own legal notice is unusually specific: the ban covers vehicles and installations serving the public, "namely terminal or intermediate stations, all their access points and adjoining establishments or facilities", citing Law 37/2007 and its amendments, with a maximum fine of €500 for breaching it.
That wording means the ban follows you from the platform, through the ticket hall, up the escalators and out through any station entrance that is part of the metro's own installations — not just the train carriage.
Buses and trams (Carris)
Carris lists not smoking inside its vehicles among the legal duties passengers accept when travelling, alongside validating a ticket and respecting priority seating, and describes breaching it as an infraction under the law rather than a mere in-house guideline.
This applies equally to standard diesel buses, the newer electric fleet and the historic trams and funiculars (Elevador da Glória, Elevador da Bica, Elevador do Lavra) that Carris also operates — the vehicle type does not change the rule.
Trains and ferries
Trains operated by CP and river ferries (Transtejo/Soflusa services across the Tagus) are, like the metro and Carris fleet, enclosed public-transport vehicles under Law 37/2007, so the same indoor ban applies on board and in covered station buildings. Outdoor platforms without a roof are more like an outdoor public space, though station operators can and do post their own no-smoking signage more broadly.
Taxis and ride-hailing
A taxi or a private ride-hailing car is not automatically covered by the public-transport provisions of Law 37/2007 in the same way as a bus, but it is the driver's workplace and, commonly, the driver's own vehicle, so the decision to allow smoking rests with the driver. In practice almost no professional driver in Lisbon allows it, both for health reasons and because it affects the resale and cleaning of the vehicle; always ask before lighting up, and expect the answer to be no.
Common questions
- Can I smoke on a metro platform if I'm outdoors?
- Metropolitano de Lisboa's rule covers stations, access points and adjoining installations broadly, so treat any part of the metro's own premises as no-smoking regardless of ventilation.
- Is smoking allowed at an open-air bus stop?
- An open, unroofed stop generally follows ordinary outdoor rules, not the indoor transport ban, though this does not apply to covered shelters that form part of a station building.
- Can a taxi driver refuse to let me smoke?
- Yes. The vehicle is the driver's workplace and property, and it is standard practice across Lisbon for drivers not to allow smoking inside.
Sources
This page is general information about Portuguese rules and Lisbon practice, not legal advice. Rules change; check the sources for the current text. Tobacco is for adults 18 and over.