The Governing Board of Santa Cruz approved yesterday to officially request the Government of the Canary Islands to participate in the Working Group, in which the councils are already present, to address the scope of the application from the year 2023 of the 100% discount on public transport.
This request is supported by the announcement that the General State Budget for 2023 includes an item of 81 million for a 100% reduction in the price of bus and tram trips in the Canary Islands. The Consistory recalls that it is the competent administration in urban collective transport that has a significant volume of passengers close to 10 million per year, at a cost of 13 million euros and that it “does not know” the mechanisms and coverage of such a reduction.
According to the City Council, so far, it only knows through the media the users that will be favored, as well as the meetings that are being held between the Government and the Cabildo. On November 24, the councilor with a delegation on Transportation, Dámaso Arteaga, issued an order for the processing of the file requesting to participate in these meetings.
The mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, defended yesterday that “we must be present at the meetings of the Working Group that takes place between the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing of the Government of the Canary Islands and the representatives of the Island Councils for our essential involvement in the implementation of the measures adopted”.
An opinion seconded by Dámaso Arteaga, who pointed out that “it is essential to know all the details and forecasts of other administrations involved that must address, together with us, the application and scope, from the year 2023, of the bonus of that 100% of public transport”, and added that “we must be aware of the formula that will be used with the sole intention of arriving in the best conditions and providing a quality public service to the citizens of Santa Cruz, given the more than foreseeable increase in the demand”.
In parallel to this request, yesterday, the Governing Board urgently approved the award of the contract based on the Framework Agreement for the supply of 100% electric buses for the urban public transport service of Santa Cruz, financed through Next Generation funds, which correspond to Lot 1, for the supply of 11 buses.
In this case, the agreement was formalized with Iveco Spain. The delivery period is 11 monthly installments from the day following the notification of the agreement, in accordance with the conditions established in your offer. The total amount of this lot is 5.4 million.
The mayor highlights that “while we request to be present at the meetings, this City Council is already preparing for this more than foreseeable increase in users, anticipating the purchase of 11 new buses for urban service, which are 100% electric.”
