The Spanish government's 2023 budget allocated 14.6 million euros for this plus a further 18.8 million for Palma buses. Where the former is concerned, the estimate is that the cost for the whole year will be around 17 million. The Balearic government will have to bear the cost of the difference - 2.4 million.
The payment by the Spanish government has yet to be made, but the Balearic ministry for mobility is confident that it will receive the money shortly; a cabinet meeting on September 5 approved the transfer of funds.
The 2.4 million euros shortfall can be explained by a higher than anticipated demand for intermodal travel cards. Up to August, 119,307 cards processed, of which 99,275 were first issues. For the whole of 2022, there were 122,723 cards, the free transport having started last autumn. The Balearic government has received Spanish government payment for last year - around three million euros.
At present, it's not certain if the free transport scheme will continue in 2024. The Pedro Sánchez government is currently operating in an acting capacity and cannot therefore bring new bills to Congress. The 2024 budget is one such bill, and the subsidies for transport are a feature of this.
Given the shortage of time and the uncertainty surrounding the next Spanish government, it is highly likely that the 2023 budget will be extended. But there are doubts as to whether subsidies of this type can be extended as well.
* Public transport in Mallorca is free to residents who have the necessary card; it is not free to visitors.
4 comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Funny how the MaJorcan bulletin isn't happy with the tourists having to pay and the residents not having too pay. Boo huh! Guiris don't like poor people not having to pay for the transport they already pay in taxes?? At the end of the day this is something beneficial for the community and many people have to go to work and don't have the means + the island is full of cars because the public transport is already slow and unreliable. The least that could be done is make it free and have the tourists who ravage and who all the businesses already cater too pay for it.
Free never works. Free is open to abuse and something free is rarely valued. 90% of those presently travelling free could easily afford, say, 1 or 2 Euros for their journey. Free is a political device to gain favour with the voting public but is long term unsustainable in a small city like Palma and its suburbs.
Losing these millions of Euros of income. Can not be for the good of Mallorcas Transport revenues. I do not think they can continue with this Free Scheme any more.
They need to conduct a more in depth study into this to know it's true costs/benefits. How much has this measure increased the free movement of trade around the city? How has it impacted upon traffic around palma? Has the number collisions in the city reduced? Emissions? Work to home transport times? Parking availability? This cannot be measured solely in monetary terms.