The vice president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Minister of Mobility and president of Interurban Transport of Tenerife (Titsa), Enrique Arriaga (Citizens), highlights that Titsa “is a fundamental pillar to solve mobility” on the Island, which is why, according to He affirms that the Cabildo is “decidedly committed to Titsa continuing to function and providing the best possible service”, and highlights the work carried out in these three years of management in this regard. In addition, it announces news such as the construction of the Los Cristianos bus station, the start-up of the BUS-VAO lane between Güímar and Santa Cruz in mid-2023 and the objective of “achieving by the end of the legislature, when under the conditions, to be able to lower the rates of frequent users”.
-In these three years at the head of Titsa, what improvements have been made in the service?
“In order to solve the problem of mobility in Tenerife, we are clear that it is not only putting an end to the infrastructures that should have been built on the island more than 20 years ago, but we also have to support Titsa, public transport. Titsa is a fundamental pillar to solve the mobility of Tenerife. And for public transport to be really attractive for users, we need to have state-of-the-art buses, respectful of the environment, competitive rates and two aspects that are not present today and that are what really make public transport not be as successful as it should be, that it is fast and that it reaches everywhere. Those are the two aspects that we have focused on when working on Titsa. We know that our Island has very dispersed nuclei and it is difficult for Titsa to reach all places at times and frequencies. To find a solution, we have reached agreements and conventions with many municipalities, but, above all, the real solution is what is called transport on demand, and that is where the Tu Guagua program comes in, which takes you from your home to the nearest bus stop, with which we reach 100% of potential users in time and frequency. And for public transport to be fast, we need it to go the other way and not collapse like the rest of the cars, and for that what we have put in place are the preferential bus lanes and the BUS-HOV, to pass in this legislature from three to more than 50 kilometers”.
– At what point are these projects right now?
“On the TF-1, the BUS-HOV lane project is about to be completed; on the TF-5 the work on the preferential lane between Las Chumberas and La Laguna already began this week; we are drafting the project between the HUC and Las Chumberas, and we are now putting out to tender the project for the BUS-HOV lane of the TF-5 between Santa Cruz and La Laguna. They are smart lanes, which can be activated and deactivated from the highway control center and are made through a system of lights, panels and cameras that is very easy to execute, it is a work that does not last more than six months. The TF-1 will be the first to come into operation in mid-2023, the section between Güímar and Santa Cruz, only in the direction of Santa Cruz, because in the other there are really no traffic jams. That of the TF-5, we have not released the project because we were waiting for the Government of the Canary Islands to publish the solution to fit the ring road with the TF-5 at the height of Lora and Tamayo. And now we are in a position to carry out this project, in the Santa Cruz-La Laguna section, in both directions. Our intention is to start these works also in 2023. And with that we already have fast public transport that reaches everywhere”.
-What other improvements do you have planned between now and the end of the legislature in the service?
“Another of the improvements that we are going to carry out is the construction of the Los Cristianos bus station, which, being the third stop for passengers on the Island and the third municipality for inhabitants, has never had a station. And also San Isidro, which is another important passenger point. And we already have an agreement with the State to carry out the projects this year.”
-What do you think then of the criticism from the opposition and Sí Podemos Canarias? That they have denounced mismanagement and that they want to intentionally dismantle Titsa so that the population accepts the train to the South…
“That it is totally unfounded and not only are we not dismantling it, but we are promoting it, and in these three years we have placed Titsa at the service of all Tenerife residents wherever they need public transport, and adapted the company to the 21st century. Of course, it seems absurd to think that trains and buses are incompatible on the Island. The only thing we did at Ciudadanos is open the debate on guided transportation, on the train to the South. And the facts show that, far from dismantling what we have done, the company has been strengthened. We have reinforced the workforce with the incorporation of 107 drivers due to the completion of one of the selection processes opened in 2017. At the same time, Titsa will consolidate the jobs of another 77 people, we have created a job pool for 140 drivers and we have also hired 73 temporary drivers. to mitigate increases in demand. And these days it is precisely the examination of the 2019 call. This year, in addition, the Cabildo will invest more than 35 million, in what represents the largest investment in buses in its history, for the purchase, not rent, of 101 new vehicles, 95 of which will be hybrids. and 46 will be available to the company this year, and another 55 will arrive throughout 2023. And the following acquisitions will be 100% hybrid. In addition, we have reorganized services and lines to offer an offer that is more in line with demand, what travelers ask for: faster transfers, comfort on trips, more frequencies, and we continue to work on this. Before making each of the changes, mobility studies have been analyzed that have allowed us to improve the service day by day. And an improvement has been made to all forms of payment, incorporating bank card payment. Likewise, the Cabildo in 2018 put, to compensate losses in Titsa, 33 million; in the year 2021, he put 77 million; and in this 2022 52 million are planned. In other words, the Cabildo is firmly committed to Titsa continuing to function and providing the best possible service. I will continue working for the people of Tenerife, to improve public transport, to improve mobility on the Island. They can accuse me of many things, but not of immobility. When I presented myself, I did so with the commitment to work for the Island and I will continue to do so. Launching actions that allow Tenerife to take a step forward”.
– Will travelers notice the increase in the price of fuel in the rates?
“No, we will not raise rates. The Cabildo assumes this additional cost so as not to pass it on to travellers. We work to promote public transport, to help citizens, it is at this time when they need the Cabildo the most. In addition, our goal is, between now and the end of the legislature, when the conditions are met, to be able to lower the rates for frequent users, especially youth vouchers, Canarian residents and social vouchers, despite the increase in fuel prices. The Cabildo wants to reward those frequent users of public transport”.
-In your appearance last plenary you said that the company’s assets had been regularized, what was the problem?
“The land on which the Cuevas Blancas garages are located was not in the name of the company, it had invested in those facilities and, however, it was not Titsa land. After decades, we have managed to regularize the situation. We can already say that the garages are located on their own land and that means an improvement in the company’s solvency ranking and property insurance”.
-In conclusion, how do you assess Titsa’s evolution in the last three years?
“We meet a giant with feet of clay and during this time we have prepared Titsa to face the challenges of the 21st century. All this, while we were immersed in the pandemic and facing zero tourism that reduced demand in a single year by 16.6 million travelers. That happened in 2020, now the forecasts suggest that we will exceed the 45.7 registered in 2019”.
-Continuing with mobility on the Island, at what point is the train project to the South?
“The step has been taken to guarantee the financing of the trains by the State, we have achieved this through a non-law proposal approved in the Congress of Deputies, presented by Ciudadanos. And what was achieved with this proposal approved by all, except Bildu and the PdeCAT, is to guarantee the financing for the construction of the Tenerife and Gran Canaria trains. From this moment on, what we need is for this to be reflected in the general state budgets for the year 2023 or 2024”.
-And as for the project to extend the tramway to Tenerife North airport…
“Right now we are working on including the other two options in the planning (on Pablo Iglesias street and the one parallel to TF-5), because there was only the one on Seis de Diciembre and El Juego streets, and what we want is Introduce the other two so that when the decision is made, these procedures have already been advanced and it will be much faster to execute the work. And we are still waiting for the right time to be given to be able to carry out the citizen consultation process to which we had committed ourselves”.
-How is that process going?
“It has been paralyzed during the pandemic, obviously the conditions have not been met and we are waiting to see when we can reactivate it.”
-And how are the talks with La Laguna going? From there, the neighborhood consensus is insisted on to carry out the project…
“What we have said is that with the result of that consultation, the decision will be made by the municipalities of Santa Cruz, La Laguna and the Cabildo. The decision is going to be taken with everyone, with the results of the consultation, here nobody wants to impose anything, but we don’t understand how this project has been paralyzed for 15 years either”.
