Ronda's going 'green' with electric buses, plus direct control of urban transport

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Ronda town council is moving ahead on municipalisation of public transport with this ten-year contract at an estimated cost of over two million euros

Julio J. Portabales

Ronda

Thursday, 26 March 2026, 13:34

How people get around on public transport in Ronda is changing course. After years of failed attempts to award the service to a private company, the town council is now moving towards a direct management model with the addition of a new fleet of electric buses. This step marks a turning-point for a service that has long suffered from structural problems.

The council has approved the tender for the leasing of three 100% electric buses, with an estimated cost of more than two million euros over ten years. This arrangement will allow Ronda council to have modern vehicles without having to purchase them outright, in a context where the priority is to renew the service and guarantee its continuity.

This is not an isolated move. It comes months after all councillors unanimously approved initiating the process to municipalise urban transport, a decision taken after three consecutive tenders that failed. The last one was declared void when the only company that entered a bid failed to meet the specified technical requirements, thus closing the door to private management of this bus service.

"We are municipalising the service to resolve the current problems", stated Ronda's mayor, Mari Paz Fernández, in her defence of the need to directly manage a service she considers essential for the town. She stressed that this is especially true for groups like the elderly, who rely heavily on such transport.

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electric vehicles and direct management by the council and the other is opening a station that will reorganise bus traffic and access to this historic town. Together, these two elements seek to redefine a key service in the daily lives of Ronda residents and its many visitors.