Palma´s bus routes for the future

Palma's public bus service yesterday took the first steps towards expanding and improving the city's service. The EMT bus company unveiled a new timetable for the number 4 bus which links Genova, San Agustin and Bonanova with the city centre. The new time table is the first of many routes which are to be revised and improved as a result of a Palma public transport study recently completed for the city council. EMT boss, Pedro Alvarez, said yesterday that the study has also unveiled the need for a number of new routes which in turn will be introduced. The number 4 bus has been one of the worst bus routes with buses operating just every 30 minutes. Alvarez also said that as the route has no fixed destination, passengers were never sure in which direction the bus was going. He said that the previous route failed to provide passengers with an adequate service. The new route will have a start and a finish and the number of buses on the route will be doubled, which will mean that buses will be operating every 20 minutes. However, until construction work has been completed along the Ramblas, the number 4 bus will be operating on a slightly different route in the city centre. The city council's bid to improve public transport ties in with the Balearic government's public transport overhaul unveiled on Wednesday. Alvarez said that, armed with the results of the study, EMT intends to discover exactly what the travelling public wants with the aim of meeting the public's needs while easing traffic problems in the city.