The Spanish Government has agreed that public transport in the Balearics will be 'free' for at least the first six months of 2025. Approval of this is expected at the cabinet meeting on Christmas Eve.
The Balearic transport minister, José Luis Mateo, who on Wednesday morning had sent a letter to the Spain's transport minister, Óscar Puente, calling for free transport in 2025, only found out about the extension to June from the media. He has described this as unacceptable.
It is understood that from July, the government's intention is to gradually reduce the universality of the funding for free transport in order to focus subsidies on certain types of passenger.
In Mateo's letter to Puente, he also asked for an increase in the funding for this - from 43 million to 56 million euros. The current subsidy is insufficient, and so the regional government is having to bear part of the cost.
The regional government calculates that it will have cost 54.1 million euros to finance public transport in 2024. This figure covers TIB buses plus the railway and the metro in Mallorca, buses on the other islands and also Palma's EMT buses.
Palma Town Hall has said that there won't be free buses in 2025 except for those groups who were eligible for this prior to the system for all residents being introduced, e.g. pensioners and schoolchildren. Palma has also argued that the funding is insufficient and that it takes far too long to be paid.
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