Vale do Ave Transportes
Vale do Ave Transportes is a Portuguese passenger transport company operating 250+ buses and 4 trucks from Serzedelo, Guimarães, serving corporate commuting, school transport, tourism charter, municipal public transit (since 2021), and freight customers across northern Portugal.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersSerzedelo, Portugal
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Vale do Ave Transportes does
Vale do Ave Transportes is a privately held Portuguese passenger and goods transport operator headquartered in Serzedelo, Guimarães, and founded in 1991 by Fernando Salgado. The company runs a fleet of more than 250 buses and 4 trucks, with 120+ modern coaches ranging from 9-seat minibuses to 79-seat long-distance vehicles, supported by a workforce of over 400 staff. (Note: third-party firmographic data lists headcount at 51–100, which conflicts with the company's own website figure of 400+ collaborators; the first-party figure is used here as the more specific source.)
The business operates across four service lines: regular corporate employee transport under B2B partnerships; school and student transport (including adapted vehicles for children, study visits, and sports travel); occasional tourism and event services covering national and international circuits, themed visits, and regional fairs; and contracted municipal public transit in Amarante, Guimarães, and Lamego that the company entered in 2021. A small freight arm uses four trucks for logistics-sector cargo work. GTM is direct for tourism and public transit customers and partnership-based for corporate and school clients, with quote-based pricing tailored per engagement.
Revenue mechanics are a mix of recurring contracted fees (corporate commuting, school transport, municipal public transit) and transactional fees (tourism charter, freight). The company does not disclose pricing publicly, has no app or API surface, and shows no AI/ML capability in the source data. Its competitive position rests on regional tenure, a diversified multi-segment book, and a modern fleet, with no external institutional investors, parent company, M&A activity, or funding rounds disclosed.
Vale do Ave Transportes firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Vale do Ave Transportes
- Legal name
- Vale do Ave Transportes
- Website
- https://valedoavetransportes.pt
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Vale do Ave Transportes is a Portuguese passenger transport company operating 250+ buses and 4 trucks from Serzedelo, Guimarães, serving corporate commuting, school transport, tourism charter, municipal public transit (since 2021), and freight customers across northern Portugal.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Vale do Ave Transportes industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Passenger Transportation Services
- NAICS
- Other Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation (48599), Urban Transit Systems (4851), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487)
- SIC
- Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100), Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Park-and-Ride / Express Commuter Bus Operators (TLAFAGAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Ground Transportation & Transfers Coordination (HSACAKAD), Airport Transfer Services (Meet-and-Greet, Fixed-Route) (THADAEAG)
Keywords
Where Vale do Ave Transportes is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Serzedelo
- HQ country
- Portugal
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Vale do Ave Transportes business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Tourism Transport Services: Transportation services for excursions, events, organized trips, and thematic visits in Portugal and internationally. Includes national and international tourist circuits and regional fairs.
- Regular Corporate Transport: Daily employee transport partnerships with companies, including dedicated routes for corporate commuting.
- Student and School Transport: Daily transport of students including vehicles prepared for children transport, school trips, and sports transport.
- Public Transport Services: Public transportation services for local communities of Amarante, Guimarães and Lamego since 2021.
- Freight/Cargo Transport: Goods transportation using 4 trucks prepared to meet logistics sector demands.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels2 records
Vale do Ave Transportes product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Vale do Ave Transportes is a Portuguese passenger heavy transport company providing regular employee commuting services for businesses, daily school and student transport, occasional tourism excursions (national and international circuits, themed visits, regional fairs), public transportation in Amarante, Guimarães, and Lamego since 2021, and goods transport using 4 trucks. The company operates a fleet of over 250 buses (including more than 120 modern 9–79 seat vehicles) supported by 400+ employees to serve corporate, educational, tourism, public, and logistics customers.
Product overview
Vale do Ave Transportes is a transportation services company offering a portfolio of passenger and goods transport solutions. The core offerings include regular services (employee transport partnerships, daily student transport, school sports transport), occasional services (tourist circuits, themed visits, regional fairs), public transport (serving Amarante, Guimarães, and Lamego since 2021), and goods transport. The company operates a fleet of over 120 modern buses ranging from 9 to 79 seats, complemented by 4 trucks for merchandise transport. All services are supported by a team of over 400 employees and a fleet of more than 250 buses total.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Serviços Regulares (Regular Services)
Quantifiable outcome
- Fleet of 120+ modern buses with latest climate control systems, ergonomic seats and accessibility solutions
Companies that use Vale do Ave Transportes
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Vale do Ave Transportes technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Vale do Ave Transportes partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Travel AgenciescorePartnerships with travel agencies for organized tours, national and international tourist circuits, thematic visits in Portugal, and regional excursions and fairs.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Vale do Ave Transportes competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- National Express: National Express is a UK-headquartered international transport group operating scheduled coach, school bus, and contracted transit services, including ownership of ALSA in Iberia. Comparable to Vale do Ave through its combined scheduled coach, school transport, and municipal bus activities, though substantially larger and more diversified.
- Transdev: Transdev is one of the world's largest public transit and multimodal operators, with bus and coach operations across Europe including Portugal. Comparable to Vale do Ave as a public-transit and contracted bus operator, but operating globally with a much broader portfolio of rail and mobility services beyond charter and tourism.
- Arriva: Arriva is a major European passenger transport operator (owned by Deutsche Bahn) running local bus, regional coach, and contracted transit services across 14 countries. Comparable to Vale do Ave in the contracted public-transit and regional bus segments, though Arriva operates at far greater scale across multiple geographies.
- ALSA: ALSA is Spain's largest passenger bus operator, running scheduled, charter, tourism, and corporate transport services across Iberia. Comparable to Vale do Ave because it operates in the same Iberian ground-passenger market with a similar mix of regular, occasional, and tourism services, but at substantially greater scale and geographic scope.
Direct peers
- Eurolines: Eurolines is a European long-distance coach network offering international bus services across multiple countries including Portugal and Spain. Comparable to Vale do Ave for its international excursion and cross-border tour activity, directly overlapping with Vale do Ave's "national and international tourist circuits" service line.
- Damas: Damas is an Andalusian (Spain) passenger transport operator running regular, school, and charter bus services in southern Spain. Comparable to Vale do Ave in its mix of regular, occasional, and educational transport services targeting a regional Iberian customer base.
- Citi Express: Citi Express is a Portuguese bus operator providing regular, charter, and tour transport services within Portugal. Comparable to Vale do Ave as a domestic Portuguese bus operator with overlapping service lines in corporate, tourism, and charter passenger transport.
- Iberbus: Iberbus is a Portuguese passenger transport company operating regular and charter bus services across northern and central Portugal. Comparable to Vale do Ave as a regionally focused Portuguese bus operator serving similar corporate, school, and tour customer segments.
- Rede Expresso: Rede Expresso is a major Portuguese intercity coach operator running scheduled long-distance bus services across Portugal. Comparable to Vale do Ave as a domestic Portuguese bus operator competing for the same passenger base, though Rede Expresso is more focused on scheduled intercity routes while Vale do Ave spans tourism, school, corporate, and municipal public transport.
Emerging players
- FlixBus: FlixBus is a fast-growing European intercity bus and mobility platform operating across dozens of countries including Portugal and Spain. Comparable to Vale do Ave in the intercity and long-distance ground-passenger category, but competing via a digital-first platform model rather than owning a fleet directly, creating both overlap and potential partnership dynamics.
Market position
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks1 record
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Vale do Ave Transportes social profiles
Digital presenceVale do Ave Transportes financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Vale do Ave Transportes leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Vale do Ave Transportes funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Vale do Ave Transportes M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Vale do Ave Transportes
What does Vale do Ave Transportes do?
Vale do Ave Transportes is a Portuguese passenger heavy transport company providing regular employee commuting services for businesses, daily school and student transport, occasional tourism excursions (national and international circuits, themed visits, regional fairs), public transportation in Amarante, Guimarães, and Lamego since 2021, and goods transport using 4 trucks. The company operates a fleet of over 250 buses (including more than 120 modern 9–79 seat vehicles) supported by 400+ employees to serve corporate, educational, tourism, public, and logistics customers.
Is Vale do Ave Transportes a public or private company?
Vale do Ave Transportes is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Vale do Ave Transportes founded?
Vale do Ave Transportes was founded in 1991. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Vale do Ave Transportes based?
Vale do Ave Transportes is headquartered in Serzedelo, Portugal, in the Europe region.
How does Vale do Ave Transportes make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Tourism Transport Services are the primary driver. The others are regular Corporate Transport, student and School Transport, public Transport Services and freight/Cargo Transport.
Who are Vale do Ave Transportes's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are National Express, Transdev, Arriva and ALSA. Direct peers are Eurolines, Damas, Citi Express, Iberbus and Rede Expresso. FlixBus is listed as an emerging player.
Does Vale do Ave Transportes have an API?
No public API is recorded for Vale do Ave Transportes.
What industry is Vale do Ave Transportes in?
Vale do Ave Transportes's product category is Passenger Transportation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLAFAGAF, Park-and-Ride / Express Commuter Bus Operators, with a secondary code of HSACAKAD, Ground Transportation & Transfers Coordination. Its NAICS code is 48599 and its SIC code is 4100.