The free bonuses that have been applied since January 1 of this year lead to Tenerife tram to record never before seen numbers of passengers. In the first week of this month of September, the number of users exceeded 20 million, a figure that shatters the annual record when there are still four months left until the end of the year. Before this year, the maximum was reached in 2019 with 15.5 million. Of Maintaining the pace of 2023, could end up with a number of more than 28 million passengers, almost double the 2019 record.
The Mobility Counselor of the Cabildo de TenerifeEulalia García, reported yesterday that demand “continues its upward trend” at the beginning of September. In this first week of the month, they have quantified more than 417,000 ticket validations compared to 268,000 which were recorded in the same week of 2022. “This is very positive data that makes it clear that citizens are increasingly opting for public transport, in this case the tram,” says García, who recalls that recently has added one more tram to line 1 that “will reinforce the service and provide a greater frequency of trams in service.” The normal frequency had been 5 minutes but with the incorporation of the new vehicles, it will be possible to reach approximately 4 and a half minutes of frequency for each stop.
The free vouchers for passengers who make more than 15 trips a month, which came into effect on the first day of this year and will remain until the last, has boosted the use of public transportation, both trams and buses, even more than was anticipated. In the case of light rail, the statistics are devastating. The number of passengers has been growing year after year since the service began operating in June 2007 – 12.4 million in 2013, 13.2 in 2015, 14.1 in 2017, 15.5 in 2019 –, it fell by 2020 as a consequence of the covid pandemic –10.3 million passengers–, recovered in 2021 –12.5 million– and has skyrocketed with 20 million users in eight months thanks to the 100% price bonus of the bonus this 2023. Last August closed with a total of 1,554,703 travelers, a growth of 68.7% compared to the same month last year. The free vouchers represent 82% of the total validated tickets and 25% of tram users travel using the ten+móvil application.
