Public transportation in Tenerife continues to break user records. Buses and trams transported 66,476,192 travelers from January to September. This record exceeds by more than three million the 63.1 of all of 2022, when there are still three months left in the year.
Titsa and Metrotenerife, companies dependent on the Cabildo, They have been exceeding figures throughout 2023 that have no historical precedents. The insular Minister of Mobility, Eulalia García, indicates that the data is “very positive” and adds: “We hope to be able to retain the loyalty of a large part of these new users, so that little by little there is a change in the mobility habits of citizens. ». She considers the free provision, in force since last January 1, to be key, and makes it clear that “it is not our direct competence, but we will fight to keep it.”
Metrotenerife transported 2,067,370 passengers in September, which added to the annual total until reaching 16,073,727 in the first nine months of the year. The data calculated from a year ago shows that, between September 2022 and the same month of 2023, 20,726,176 users were registered.
The x-ray in this area of Interurban Transport of Tenerife (Titsa) yields spectacular data. In the accumulated amount at the end of September, it transported 50,402,405 travelers on the Island, a figure 46.47% higher than the previous year; that is, 15,991,520 more. September was also the record month throughout the year, with 6,162,293 user registrations.
Solidarity actions
Counselor García initially values actions such as support and collaboration with Amate –just yesterday– in the prevention of breast cancer. The company labeled three buses that will circulate on lines in the Metropolitan Area, the North and the South with the aim of giving a space to associations and NGOs on the Island. The vehicles will serve as advertising supports so that their messages reach the greatest number of citizens.
The counselor explains that “our commitment is clear: collective public transport and sustainability. “Both come together in this case.” He values: “The data responds to a large extent to free data and we are aware of this because they may decrease if it is not maintained from 2024.” However, he explains, “everything points out, and this is what the users themselves tell us, since we have gained loyalty from a good part of them. If this measure were not continued, the 50% vouchers are very affordable and were very successful among citizens who opt for buses or trams due to the increase in fuel or to avoid queues and anger if they use a private vehicle.
Bet on free
The commitment of the Cabildo of Tenerife is free public transport, as demonstrated by the recent measure of reducing trips to renew that condition from 15 to 10, “a measure that the Institution can take.” Eulalia García points out that “the general trend is free, despite the unknown of what will happen to the Government of Spain». He emphasizes that “the European Union has already made progress and this is expressed by the main transport operators and associations in recent meetings.”
Resource needs
Eulalia García recognizes that “we need more resources to serve users with adequate services. “That is our concern.” However, she points out that “it is not so easy to get buses, a key factor. We increase the workforce of drivers, but it is still not enough. He remembers that “the fuller the bus is, the longer the driver takes.” He indicates that “little by little the orders arrive in 2022 and 2023 and we have faced the purchase, with our own funds, of others for which there were only advertisements without financing, and we have saved 20 million in interest payments to the banks. They will begin to arrive in 2024.
pleasant experience
The counselor understands that “another fundamental factor is making the experience pleasant.” user experience of the bus with better stops, whose reform we face, or exchangers. Like that of Los Cristianos, “a work already underway that includes the burying of Chayofita Avenue.” He also mentions the Gordian knot of the San Isidro roundabout (Granadilla de Abona), the scene of traffic jams for vehicles and people. He states that “Mobility receives data and reports through, among others, the drivers.”
Questioned about Why isn’t the number of cars on the roads going down? –850,000 on an Island of one million inhabitants–, clarifies that “the average is 1.2 people per vehicle, but the fundamental thing is that public transport has a priority route.” The bet in this sense “is the Bus-Vao lanes (high occupancy).” The counselor concludes: «We must encourage people to leave their cars behind with measures such as on-demand transport in mid-distance areas or a parking network. “Many joint actions.”
a trend
This September balance is very positive, but it takes on greater importance because in previous years Titsa and Metrotenerife recorded excellent numbers. Of the 63.1 million passengers in 2022, lThe bus company transported 48.1 and the tram transported almost 15. In Titsa they were 5.3% more than before the pandemic (2019) and 31.3% compared to 2021, when there were still limitations on public transport. In Metrotenerife, last year’s 14,960,000 travelers were very close to the 2019 figure, the highest record since the start of service (2007), with 15,555,000 users. This number means an increase of 19% compared to 2021, when 12,543,000 were counted. In 2023 all records will be surpassed.
The key
Free travel, in effect since January 1, is a key factor in understanding the exponential increase in passengers on buses and trams. There was already a significant increase last year due to the attractive discounts, but the free everything is encouraging. Paradoxically, recurring collapses continue on part of the 1,550 kilometers of roads, especially on the two highways.
