The Minister of Transport of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Marcos Bergaz, has indicated that although public transport "is in luck" due to the increase in demand, there are difficulties that must be solved, because they cause situations "that are not desirable".
Bergaz made these statements in an interview on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero regarding the event that occurred last week, about the attempted stabbing of a bus driver: "Luckily these are isolated events, but there is no cause that justifies this type of behavior. No driver has to put up with this."
Lanzarote has doubled the number of users between 2021 and 2022
The Head of Transport has indicated that the number of users has increased "massively" due to free travel and inflation.
The island registered last November 2022 an increase of 30,000 users compared to the same month of 2021. Likewise, the number of public transport passengers has doubled from 2021 to 2022.
"This growth is good news, but the truth is that there are difficulties in assuming it," Bergaz acknowledged.
The main problems are registered on lines 3 and 60, which connect Arrecife with Playa Blanca, so the Minister has announced that the concessionaire company, Intercity Bus, will incorporate two new buses during the first quarter of this 2023 (which will be added to other old ones that will be "tuned up") and seven new drivers, to improve these connections.
New transport contract for 2023
Likewise, the Island Council is already working on the specifications for the tender of a new transport contract for the island, which aims to "reach 7 million users", 2 million more than in 2022.
For this, Bergaz has indicated that it is necessary to "have more buses, more frequencies and better service", facts that are in the process of being specified, so the Minister has advanced that the contract could be ready throughout this year.
