The entry into force of the new measures that imply free general public transport for the Canary Islands hardly had an impact on its first day of validity, although the characteristics of a day like yesterday (it was not only Sunday, but also New Year Nuevo) forces us to wait at least until today, which is a working day, to obtain possible indications of whether such savings convince more islanders to leave their private vehicle at home and opt for the buses (or the tram, in the case of the Tenerife metropolitan area). ) for the benefit of the whole society.
Of course, and despite the anecdotal nature of the case, it is still significant that yesterday (the day on which the good weather and the condition of a holiday encouraged not a few to enjoy the coast) there was a considerable traffic jam at the entrance to San Andrés , and that came to affect part of the highway that connects this urban center with the capital, given the flood of cars that at certain hours of the day ended up concentrating towards Las Teresitas beach in Santa Cruz.
Other sensitive points in this sense, such as El Médano or Puerto de la Cruz, also attracted quite a few Tenerife residents, although logically neither the TF-1 nor the TF-5 had to endure retentions as they did not add the daily displacement of workers for the reasons already stated.
Be that as it may, the truth is that the Government of the Canary Islands foresees a 4% increase in the use of public transport thanks to the aforementioned free service, an increase that would be added to the 17% already registered since the beginning of the 50% discount that began to be applied in the Islands last summer.
Said data was offered by the regional president, Ángel Víctor Torres, and his counselor for Public Works, Housing and Transport, Sebastián Franquis, after signing with the island councils the coordination protocol for free public, collective and land transport measures in the Islands, an act that took place last week in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
improvement of
services
Torres already pointed out then that inter-administrative coordination will allow this measure, which will affect recurring travelers, to be as good as possible with an improvement in services and means. “We will make every effort to make this measure a success,” said the president, who was convinced that this would encourage the use of public transport, which – it must be remembered – will favor the goal of decarbonising the islands. Of the importance of the matter, he realizes that the Government of Spain itself has publicly committed to increasing the initially planned item of 81 million euros in the event that said amount turns out to be insufficient.
Emphasizing the aforementioned government forecasts, Franquis added that, although “each Island has its specific reality, it is estimated that the average increase in the use of the bus or tram will be 4%, although at certain times and frequencies such increase will be greater.
The conditions
It must be taken into account that, although the measure is of a general nature, there are exceptions since, as explained by the Regional Transport Councilor, the service will only be free “for subscriptions and recurring tickets with a minimum of 15 trips per month”. ‘. Since the average for a frequent passenger is 65 trips per month, Franquis understands that “the conditions for accessing free travel have been greatly reduced.” Another criterion is a transition period until February 28 so that the current bonds can work. As of that date, only the Canary Islands resident bond and its modalities will be issued. The main objective is to meet the expectations created by the free service that had a 50% discount since the summer,” he said.
Incentive
The truth is that applying this measure is not easy on islands like Tenerife, whose president, Pedro Martín, considers it an “exciting challenge”, although he is confident that “it can be used to encourage the use of transport public’. The Cabildo has acquired 120 buses and increased the staff to keep up.
And if the measure in question, in addition to the need to preserve the environment and the torment of traffic jams, does not completely convince you, remember that Traffic has just significantly increased the penalties provided for those behaviors that generate the greatest risk for driving. such as using the mobile phone behind the wheel or the misuse of security and protection elements of the vehicle, among others.
