The council will keep this year prices of public transport, despite the rise in energy bills and fuelyes Of the almost 76 million (75.96) budgeted for 2022 by the insular Mobility area, just over 50 will go to balance the global deficit of titsa and Metrotenerife, the two major bus and tram operators. In both cases, the sale of tickets does not cover expenses, something common in the sector. One of the objectives is to recover the number of travelers from 2019, in the pre-pandemic, which exceeded 50 million. The trend invites optimism.
Counselor Enrique Arriaga anticipates that almost 54 million of the total are dedicated to promoting and improving this public transport on the Island with the increase in staff, the purchase of a new fleet of buses, most of them sustainable –101 in total, 95 hybrids– and the improvement of interchanges and stops.
Martín and Arriaga, together with the insular director, José Alberto León, draw the forecasts. In the case of the buses, the budget is 80 million and only 45 is provided by the tickets paid by the user. The rest, between 35 and 40, come from the Cabildo budget. The same thing happens with the tram, since the total amounts to 25.5 million and only 16 are generated from the sale of tickets and subscriptions.
“We are driven by two premises: attract more users and improve the service we offer”
«Public transport is not economically profitable anywhere in the world, nor does it have to be”, explains Arriaga, although León points out that “the value is in what it can generate in savings by mitigating the collapse of the roads, since it encourages people to leave the private vehicle at home”. Arriaga emphasizes: “The citizen has to understand that lowering the rate would be equivalent to having to invest even more public money.”
Pedro Martín, in addition to recalling that improving mobility on the Island is “a complicated challenge”, emphasizes the firm commitment and work “to regain the confidence of travellers”. He assures that “despite the fact that transport has become more expensive as a result of the rise in the cost of fuel, we are not going to affect this increase in the rate in order to attract more users of the service and improve mobility on the roads.”
Enrique Arriaga underlines: “Demand forecasts suggest that passenger transport figures will again be similar this year to those recorded before the pandemic.” He adds that “in recent months it has been noted that many people leave the car at home and use public transport.” Especially on long distance routes. For example, he points out, “those that go to Las Américas have increased users by 30%.”
48 million passengers
Last year, buses and trams recorded 48.35 million passengers. Titsa transported 36.55 and Metrotenerife another 11.7. The island councilor states that almost 54 million of the budget will be dedicated to improvements. Like the hiring of drivers (107 new, 77 consolidated and 73 temporary for six months). To make public transport more competitive and faster, “the Cabildo will multiply the current 3.2 kilometers of bus lane by 15 to increase to more than 50.” In this sense, the preferential bus will be executed between Las Chumberas and the La Laguna Interchange and another section will be launched between the HUC and Las Chumberas. On the other hand, the access work to the Santa Cruz Interchange is planned with the burying of Álvaro Rodríguez López street at the height of CC Meridiano.
«Public transport is not profitable anywhere, nor does it have to be»
Mobility works on the Vao Bus Lane project (high occupancy) between Güímar and Santa Cruz (one way), and between Santa Cruz and La Laguna (two ways). One lane of the TF-1 and another of the TF-5 will be enabled for public transport and vehicles in which more than one person circulates.
Arriaga advances that in a few days the option to pay the buses with a bank card will be presented. “A great advance”, she values. He announces new interchanges in Los Cristianos and San Isidro, as well as improvements in Buenavista, Granadilla and La Laguna. In the latter case, to enable access from the future Padre Anchieta footbridge. Without forgetting a canopy plan and another for accessibility at the 1,700 stops.
José Alberto León points out that the development of the Insular Plan for Sustainable Mobility (PIMSIT) will be a priority this year. The document will analyze current and future infrastructures or the projection of the population and employment in the next twenty years. The objective is to “anticipate future mobility demands in the fastest growing areas”. The drafting began in September 2021, it has five phases, two of which have already been completed, and it is expected to be approved in April 2023.
Improved information at stops
Titsa improves information for users at stops in the capital, Santa Cruz. The president of the public company, Enrique Arriaga, explains that the new design of the billboard is much simpler and clearer for travellers, who will have a QR code to find out, through their mobile phone, the opening times of the lines, among other advantages. The Island Director of Mobility, José Alberto León, for his part, maintains that offering practical and clear information on public transport encourages its use within the city, which contributes to better mobility and the decongestion of road traffic, resulting in a better quality of life for its inhabitants and a friendlier city for pedestrians. The Councilor for Transport of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Dámaso Arteaga, explains that the new signage offers travelers clearer and more simplified information on the 33 lines that make up the capital’s urban service. “The new informative maps allow knowing which line should be used depending on the route to be taken,” says Arteaga. The new urban network maps will be installed at the 255 stops that have shelters. 55% of the total will have the new design distributed in areas such as Anaga, Centro-Ofra-Salud and Centro-Suroeste.
