Number of cars for every citizen in Palma slumps

The number of vehicles in Palma per every 1,000 residents has slumped by almost 20 percent in the last 12 years, a report showed yesterday.

Palma.—Last year there were 186,545 cars registered in Palma, some two percent less than in 2001.
But the population has nonetheless grown by 21 percent  over the past 12 years.
In 2001 there were 544 vehicles for every 1,000 inhabitants. Last year that percentage was 442.
Reasons for the decline in figures have been pointed out and as the result of the economic recession, the ageing  population in Palma, the exodus of more wealthy citizens to other areas of the island  and the council’s ongoing campaign to promote other types of transport, including increasing the frequency of services in public transport and  the use of bicycles, by enforcing new laws to protect cyclists and pedestrians and build more cycling paths. The area of the city with the most traffic congestion is still the centre of Palma with a ratio of 600 cars per 1,000 habitants.