Canarian Weekly
22-02-2013, 13:20
TENERIFE bus company TITSA this week announced that it carried three million fewer passengers in 2012 than the previous year.
Break it down and that adds up to a drop of over 8,000 passengers each day on theIsland’s only public bus service.
Even though these latest figures show that 36m of us used the bus in 2012, the figures were much higher in 2011, totalling 39.3m.
Go back a further year, and the passenger figure was around the 40m mark, according to the TITSA website.
The Cabildo has pledged that it will have to make more cuts to ensure that the company does not fall into deficit this fiscal year.
The company believe that the reduction in passenger numbers is down to the 10% increase in ticket prices which, in the big scheme of things, was miniscule.
So perhaps TITSA (Transportes Interurbanos de Tenerife) and the Tenerife Cabildo should look at the issue from a wider perspective – and from the shoes of “potential” users.
The reason for the Cabildo’s interest is that TITSA is a public limited company which, belongs to the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (Tenerife Island Council).
This public service has developed and grown over the last 30 years and is key to people getting around theIsland– both residents (especially workers) and tourists.
TITSA’s budget has already been cut by eight million euros, and there are plans to trim it by a further 5.6m euros this year.
In recent weeks, several meetings with workers’ representatives have taken place to find ways to achieve this figure.
That explains why, last Monday, there was a medium-sized protest, which needed a police presence outside the main bus station in Santa Cruz, the Island’s capital, just next to the Palacio de Justicia.
Initially as you would expect, all the unions have rejected the new cuts, which even led to a strike call during Carnival time, by the UGT and CCOO.
During the past 12 months, because of the negative figures in recent years and the new state legislation mandating the budget balance, TITSA was forced to cut its bills by around 8m euros, as already stated.
The company undertook a restructuring of the bus lines, in order to reduce some of the deficit and the 10% increase in fares.
Despite these actions, the accounts are still showing a negative figure, and this year TITSA will continue cost-cutting to maintain the company.
So, what does this mean? We can expect further changes in bus routes, enhancing tourist routes to attract more users and visitors.
And next week, the company will meet with the workers’ representatives to discuss ways to continue carrying out planned economic adjustments, which the unions are against.
Perhaps the reason for the falling passenger numbers is simpler than just fare increases.
Perhaps individuals who used public transport regularly have stopped taking the bus and found alternative means because their fare has risen a few cents?
Maybe the strikes, which have obviously affected workers mostly, have persuaded them to find other ways of getting to work, such as car-sharing with neighbours or nearby friends.
Or can the drop-off be accredited to the following:
Visitor numbers to the island have dropped
The increased number of unemployed – no work equals no need to travel
The rise of out-of-town shopping malls, where people need to drive as the bus doesn’t stop nearby?
The number of increasing pick-pocket incidents at bus stations and bus stops deterring people using public transport
Perhaps the rise in All-Inclusive holidays has also contributed to the downturn. Those visitors, wearing coloured plastic wristbands, are so enamoured of their free hotel facilities – unlimited free booze, regular meals, nightly entertainment and even poolside snacks in some places – that they have no wish to spend unnecessary money by visiting other areas.
It is important to bear in mind that TITSA is not like aUKprovincial bus service. The company’s buses run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
To ensure that they reach travellers, there around 3,700 bus-stops dotted all over the island, with a fleet of 550 vehicles – one of the most modern fleets inEurope- and 1,600 employees.
TITSA’s Mission statement is: “To provide a public road transport service inTenerifethat will meet the needs and expectations of the local residents who travel around the island.”
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/shunning-public-buses/)
Break it down and that adds up to a drop of over 8,000 passengers each day on theIsland’s only public bus service.
Even though these latest figures show that 36m of us used the bus in 2012, the figures were much higher in 2011, totalling 39.3m.
Go back a further year, and the passenger figure was around the 40m mark, according to the TITSA website.
The Cabildo has pledged that it will have to make more cuts to ensure that the company does not fall into deficit this fiscal year.
The company believe that the reduction in passenger numbers is down to the 10% increase in ticket prices which, in the big scheme of things, was miniscule.
So perhaps TITSA (Transportes Interurbanos de Tenerife) and the Tenerife Cabildo should look at the issue from a wider perspective – and from the shoes of “potential” users.
The reason for the Cabildo’s interest is that TITSA is a public limited company which, belongs to the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (Tenerife Island Council).
This public service has developed and grown over the last 30 years and is key to people getting around theIsland– both residents (especially workers) and tourists.
TITSA’s budget has already been cut by eight million euros, and there are plans to trim it by a further 5.6m euros this year.
In recent weeks, several meetings with workers’ representatives have taken place to find ways to achieve this figure.
That explains why, last Monday, there was a medium-sized protest, which needed a police presence outside the main bus station in Santa Cruz, the Island’s capital, just next to the Palacio de Justicia.
Initially as you would expect, all the unions have rejected the new cuts, which even led to a strike call during Carnival time, by the UGT and CCOO.
During the past 12 months, because of the negative figures in recent years and the new state legislation mandating the budget balance, TITSA was forced to cut its bills by around 8m euros, as already stated.
The company undertook a restructuring of the bus lines, in order to reduce some of the deficit and the 10% increase in fares.
Despite these actions, the accounts are still showing a negative figure, and this year TITSA will continue cost-cutting to maintain the company.
So, what does this mean? We can expect further changes in bus routes, enhancing tourist routes to attract more users and visitors.
And next week, the company will meet with the workers’ representatives to discuss ways to continue carrying out planned economic adjustments, which the unions are against.
Perhaps the reason for the falling passenger numbers is simpler than just fare increases.
Perhaps individuals who used public transport regularly have stopped taking the bus and found alternative means because their fare has risen a few cents?
Maybe the strikes, which have obviously affected workers mostly, have persuaded them to find other ways of getting to work, such as car-sharing with neighbours or nearby friends.
Or can the drop-off be accredited to the following:
Visitor numbers to the island have dropped
The increased number of unemployed – no work equals no need to travel
The rise of out-of-town shopping malls, where people need to drive as the bus doesn’t stop nearby?
The number of increasing pick-pocket incidents at bus stations and bus stops deterring people using public transport
Perhaps the rise in All-Inclusive holidays has also contributed to the downturn. Those visitors, wearing coloured plastic wristbands, are so enamoured of their free hotel facilities – unlimited free booze, regular meals, nightly entertainment and even poolside snacks in some places – that they have no wish to spend unnecessary money by visiting other areas.
It is important to bear in mind that TITSA is not like aUKprovincial bus service. The company’s buses run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
To ensure that they reach travellers, there around 3,700 bus-stops dotted all over the island, with a fleet of 550 vehicles – one of the most modern fleets inEurope- and 1,600 employees.
TITSA’s Mission statement is: “To provide a public road transport service inTenerifethat will meet the needs and expectations of the local residents who travel around the island.”
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/shunning-public-buses/)