Free ride for city shoppers

AS of October this year, Palma City Council is studying the possibility of offering free public transport on its municipal buses for people who want to come to the centre of Palma to shop. The city's mayor, Catalina Cirer, held a meeting yesterday with management organisations, unions and different sectors of the Commerce industry to establish from what points around Palma the service should be set up. She explained it is to be a measure included in the future Plan for the revitalisation of small businesses in Palma. Cirer ventured that the free transport would come into operation “as and when the Pact is signed”. The measure would come into force between October and November and would be supported financially by the City Council and the small to medium-sized businesses. The scheme is similar to the one currently in operation where free parking time is allocted to those who shop in the centre. The mayor furthered that the Pact will also include specific financial subsidies for particular areas, such as calle Valazquez, Pedro Garau and Blanquerna, “because it would not be possible to apply the same measures to every single area of Palma”. Cirer also announced that motivational campaigns will be launched, such as “Palma, a City for Shopping”, initially launched for Christmas but now to be extended to other times of the year when there is traditionally less commercial activity. “Our starting point is the recognition we have of the importance of Commerce as an economic sector, but it could also be successfully linked in with tourist promotion” added the mayor. Separately, she announced that as of January 2005, five distinct districts of Palma would be officially on the map: the Norte, with an office in Son Pacs; Ponent, with one in Cala Mayor; the Llevant, with one in Son Ferriol; the Centro, with offices in the Avenidas; and the Playa de Palma.