More than 20 million passengers last year. This is the outcome of the Tenerife Tram, breaking its own record of users after the introduction of free public transport services. It is a fact that more and more people are opting for this mode of transportation between La Laguna and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a situation that has led to overcrowding during peak hours.
Passengers have raised the issue numerous times, highlighting the need to enhance the service and generally suggesting the purchase of more vehicles to increase trip frequency.
However, there is one question, one uncertainty that has not been addressed by Metropolitano de Tenerife: Why not use double trams?
Passengers believe that this solution, which is used during high user influx periods such as the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival, would help prevent crowded tram journeys.
Such has been the repetition of this doubt that Metropolitano de Tenerife, the company managing the service, has finally decided to address it through a TikTok video, although the explanations are not convincing to users.
The Rejection of Double Trams
According to Metropolitano de Tenerife, using double trams would mean a reduction in frequency, in other words, if the carriages were used to double the capacity, passengers would have to wait longer at the stop.
“During Carnival, it is justified because it allows doubling the capacity while maintaining the usual frequencies on holidays,” states the video posted on TikTok, using some data to support this argument: “The tram has a limited number of vehicles for both lines, currently at peak hours all 22 trams are in operation simultaneously. With double trams, the waiting time would be longer, increasing from five to ten minutes as only half of the trams would be operational.”
Furthermore, it is added that acquiring more vehicles is unfeasible as a solution to overcrowding, “due to the long period required for their manufacturing.” “It is not an alternative to meet the high demand for free transport,” concludes the explanation.
However, users are not convinced by these responses, as evidenced by the comments on Metropolitano de Tenerife’s own publication.
“Purchasing more vehicles is not a short-term solution, but let’s remember that the goal is to improve the infrastructure in the long run,” one of them explains, while others resort to sarcasm: “People are ungrateful asking for double trams, as they can just squeeze into a single one and save on heating.”
Nevertheless, the majority insist that during those peak passenger influx hours, it is better to use double trams to avoid congestion, downplaying the waiting time.
