Vélez-Málaga in talks to bring local and university transport into Malaga metropolitan consortium

Transport

The town hall's aim is for the future integration to improve the service and make it more affordable, at a time when demand for buses has been growing steadily since the eastern Costa del Sol town joined the network in May

Eugenio Cabezas

Vélez-Málaga town hall on the eastern Costa del Sol plans to capitalise on the momentum generated by its recent accession to the Malaga Metropolitan ... Consortium and take its public transport plan a step further and integrate the municipality’s local and university transport services into the system.

The town hall announced on Tuesday 21 July that it is already working on the necessary economic and financial studies, while councillors have unanimously backed several motions relating to public transport, free urban transport and financial assistance for obtaining a driving licence.

The councillor for transport, Celestino Rivas, explained during Tuesday's full council meeting that work on the integration is “already under way” and that last week they held a meeting with the consortium to discuss both urban and university transport. “This will require an economic and financial study by our departments and work is currently under way on this,” said Rivas, who avoided specifying any deadlines following the municipality’s incorporation into the consortium.

The meeting with the consortium’s representatives took place on Wednesday 15 July, when as well as discussing the integration of urban bus routes, they also discussed a new travel card that would bring together the discounts available to different groups and include the option to book journeys online.

Work is under way on a new card that would bring together the discounts available to different groups and allow journeys to be booked online

The town hall's aim is for this future integration to improve the service and make it more affordable, at a time when demand for buses has been growing steadily since the fare reductions introduced following Vélez-Málaga’s entry into the consortium in May. The town hall believes that the next step should now be to move on from fare reductions to a more extensive, practical network that is better aligned with the real needs of local residents, particularly students and commuters.

At the same time, councillors unanimously approved a motion tabled by the Andalucía por Sí political party to examine the gradual introduction of free local transport for residents registered in the municipality, as is already the case in neighbouring towns such as Torrox. The party’s spokesperson, José Pino, argued that free transport “was a commitment included in the governing team’s election manifesto” and criticised the fact that there is now talk of discounts when, as he pointed out, “free public transport was explicitly promised”.

The council meeting comes just a few days after SUR reported on the rise in passenger numbers and complaints about a lack of capacity on some routes following Vélez-Málaga’s entry into the consortium. The fare reduction, with very significant discounts on journeys to Malaga, has led to a surge in public transport usage, but has also highlighted issues regarding seating capacity, service frequency and overcrowding at peak times as well as passengers not being able to prebook tickets, which they were able to do before.

The town hall says it is monitoring the service on a daily basis and Rívas said the town hall is in “constant contact” with the management company and the consortium to compile a record of incidents. The aim is to ensure that the success of the scheme is not marred by overcrowded buses or passengers being left stranded – a complaint that has been raised repeatedly in recent days by residents and students in the Axarquía, which has led to a petition.

The aim is to ensure that the success of the measure is not marred by overcrowded buses or passengers being left stranded – a complaint that has been raised repeatedly in recent weeks

Councillors also approved another motion tabled by Andalucía por Sí to promote local authority grants aimed at helping young people obtain their driving licences. The initiative incorporated amendments from other parties calling on the central government to speed up the practical tests, in light of a delay affecting driving schools and around 18,000 candidates in the province, as reported by SUR.

Meanwhile, the town hall is exercising caution and refraining from setting dates whilst the economic and financial studies required for the integration of local and university transport into the consortium are being finalised. Rivas has made it clear that work is already under way, but any progress “will depend on technical feasibility and budgetary constraints”.

The forthcoming renewal of regional intercity transport contracts in the Axarquía lends further significance to the process. The town hall believes that this opportunity should be seized to modernise the service, increase the frequency of services and adapt the network to an Axarquía that is on the move more than ever, with greater demand and a need for transport solutions tailored to its day-to-day reality, thereby tackling the traffic jams on the A-7 motorway at the approaches to Malaga city.