The Balearic government yesterday presented the conditions for the new bus service concessions in Majorca that will start next year. The rationalisation of the service providers means that there will be three broad areas named as: Calvia and the west; Alcudia and the Tramuntana Mountains; and the east and south. The combined cost of these three will be 479 million euros over ten years; the most costly (177 million euros) will be the Alcudia-Tramuntana region. Palma, it should be noted, doesn't come into the equation as the city has its own bus service.
The tender places an emphasis on the introduction of buses which run on natural gas or electricity. Under an agreement with Redexis Gas, which is the natural gas supplier, there will be buses generating "fewer contaminants", said transport minister Marc Pons. The eventual aim is for all buses to use gas or electricity.
Pons explained that a condition of the concessions will be that two-thirds of the buses will be new and that a minimum of seventeen need to be powered by electricity. For the gas, Redexis is to create supply points in Alcudia, Calvia, Felanitx, Inca, Santa Margalida and Palma. The company's president, Fernando Bergasa, expressed his "enormous satisfaction" at being involved in pioneering energy transition "for a cleaner world".
The minister echoed his words in describing the new bus services as "a pioneering model for the whole of Spain". There are no other concessions covering a size equivalent to Majorca that have the criteria which have been set out.
As far as passenger benefits are concerned, the total number of bus service frequencies is to rise by just over 50% as will the total number of kilometres covered by the new services.
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This is good news for passengers and the environment.
What about the polluting Hire Cars, on the Island in their tens of thousands?. Also, will these Buses be any more efficient , in the Traffic Jams , and will they be on time ?.
Another thing for the taxi drivers to moan about. Ha. Ha..