As of January 1, Santa Cruz has enhanced the number of supplementary services and routes across various lines of urban buses, representing an investment increase of €214,526 in municipal public transport and an additional 46,634 kilometres of travel annually.
The City Council of the capital announced yesterday that, effective from last Wednesday, the route for line 902 has been extended to the Cueva Roja stop, adding 14 services from Monday to Friday, and another 27 on weekends and public holidays.
The Mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez (CC), stated that “this action addresses the needs of local residents, raising municipal investment by €151,074 in this urban line alone.” He further explained that this growth in frequency, addition of night services, and alterations to routes reflect a commitment to enhancing collective transport, which receives over €13 million in annual investment, alongside €600,000 for expanded frequency and night schedules, as well as an additional €214,526 for new expansions.”
The Mobility Councillor, Evelyn Alonso (CC), elaborated that “the extension to Cueva Roja means an increase in the line 902 route, translating to an additional 35,280 kilometres of travel each year on this line, necessitating more buses and drivers.”
She further noted that “line 910 to Las Teresitas will maintain the summer schedule on weekends from Easter until the first week of November, staffed by 7 drivers in the morning and another 7 in the afternoon. Concurrently, the winter schedule will be expanded for the remaining weekends of the year and on public holidays, featuring 6 drivers per shift. This amounts to an additional 2,300 services per year, resulting in 23,000 new kilometres and an extra €100,000 annually to accommodate 70,000 passengers each year.”
Concerning line 974 (Taco-Añaza-Santa María del Mar), she explained that “due to challenges with the availability of this line to adhere to the 6 timely services, as delays were noted in over 35% of journeys, one service has been eliminated, reducing the total to 5, and the schedules have been reorganised.” Alonso added that “maximum frequency would occur with 2 more hours during the night, meaning this reduction in service results in an annual saving of €45,047 and a decrease of 10,476 kilometres.” In terms of line 971, which provides a circular route to the Interchange, the outbound path has been modified to avoid Elías Bacallado Street and TF-28, opting for Nicolás González Sopranis-Sta. Mª Soledad-Conde de Pallasar-Antonio José Melo y Novo-Sgto. Provisional and TF-28 instead. “In this region, the transport service is adequately serviced by several lines operating in the current outbound direction. The new routing offers expanded service, with an extra 1,830 km. annually, an additional cost of €7,869, and an anticipated increase of about 2,250 passengers yearly,” the mayor concluded.
