Lanzarote receives an advance of 1.1 million euros from the bus service subsidy

The Canary Islands Government Council approved this Thursday, at the proposal of the Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing, Sebastián Franquis, the authorization to advance to the seven island councils the transfer of 20.6 million euros corresponding to the contribution that the Government of Spain grants each year to the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands to finance regular public transport for travelers. In the case of Lanzarote, the amount it will receive amounts to 1,103,437 euros, destined for the two operators that provide the public bus service on the island.

The total of 20.6 million euros corresponds to 75% of the subsidy (27.5 million) that the regional government advances in order to inject liquidity into the public bus and tram companies of the Archipelago, which indicates that "they have been seriously affected by the drastic drop in travelers in recent months due to the coronavirus health crisis."

In addition, the regional Executive recalls that this advance approved this Thursday must also be added another 10 million euros of own funds contributed by the regional Executive through the General Directorate of Transport, and which were already distributed among the councils a month ago, so that a total of 30.6 million euros have already been advanced to collective transport companies on the islands during the health crisis.

"Guaranteeing the operability of the system"

The Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing, with this item of state and regional funds, indicates that it seeks to "guarantee the operability of the public road passenger transport system of the Archipelago, since the councils will then distribute these aid among the different operators that operate on each island." The number of beneficiary operators is 14 throughout the Archipelago, being two per island in Lanzarote, one in La Palma, one in El Hierro, one in La Gomera, two in Tenerife, six in Gran Canaria and one in Fuerteventura.

The Ministry of Public Works will transfer the remaining 25% of this State contribution included in the General Budgets in the coming months, and, as happened with the previous two years, it has also announced that it will "negotiate with the Government of Spain the increase of this subsidy by 20 million more not initially included in the Budgets." If approved by the Council of Ministers, finally, and adding what has been approved this Thursday, the collective passenger transport companies of the islands would receive 47.5 million euros of state funds.