PTUS proposes to create a regional consortium to manage the intercity bus network

The initial document of the Sustainable Urban Transport Plan (SUTP) proposes the creation of a regional consortium, in which Benidorm and the bordering municipalities are responsible for designing and managing the intercity bus network. Yesterday this was transferred by the Mobility Councilor, José Ramón González de Zárate, after the consulting company informed about the content of the PTUS to the members of the Mobility Council. In the document, of more than 500 pages, the current situation of urban transport, both conventional and discretional, is analyzed in detail and a series of measures are proposed to improve it.

De Zárate indicated that it is "an initial document open to participation", which in the coming days will be made available to all members of the Council so that "they can make contributions or propose actions". In principle, the intention of the local government is to take PTUS project to the March plenary session for its initial approval, although the councillor clarified that "there are some measures that can be implemented before the document is finally approved."

The councillor indicated that PTUS focuses "especially on urban and discretionary transport." On the first, the PTUS proposes "to improve frequencies and information given to the user, and to rationalize the stops" with the objective of making the bus service "more efficient". For this, "it is committed to a regional transport managed by Benidorm and other municipalities and in which the Generalitat is also present". According to the document, this management "would not imply a public expense", since the service "in this regional area is profitable". In fact, some interurban lines of Benidorm register about one million passengers a year.

De Zárate recalled that in the last Regional Security Commission this proposal was launched and that it is planned to hold a meeting with the General Director of Transportation. He also clarified that currently the management of this interurban transport corresponds to the Generalitat and is provided through two operators.

On discretionary transport, the PTUS proposes to "regulate and order the access" of these vehicles to the center and add two new stops in Elche Park and Jaime I to alleviate the transit of buses in Almendros. The local government and the group Citizens (Cs) yesterday said in the Council that "the traffic of buses to transport passengers to hotels and regulated excursions, which corresponds to non-regulated excursions - the so-called 'manteros" - be separated. To manage the transit of the first ones, the document talks about "access controls" and to plan the arrivals so that the traffic is as fluid as possible. Likewise, it appeals to "limit the time of stay".