Nearly 6.5 million passengers travelled on TIB between January and April, an increase of 1.9 million (42%) compared to the same period last year.
The Ministry of Housing, Territory and Mobility of the Government of the Balearic Islands, through the Transport Consortium of Mallorca (CTM), has recorded in the first four months of the year, from January to April 2024, nearly 6.5 million passengers who have travelled on the TIB bus, which represents an increase of 42.2% in the number of users compared to the same period of 2023, when free travel on all public transport was already in force.
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The number of passengers travelling on TIB buses rises by 42%
During the first four months of this year, the increase was more than 1.9 million passengers compared to the same period in 2023, from 4.5 million to nearly 6.5 million. This 42% increase in demand for TIB network buses comes between two periods in which free transport had already been introduced for users travelling with the Intermodal Card.
At present, the interurban public transport of the TIB network connects the different municipalities and areas of Mallorca with 71 bus lines. To cope with the increase in demand, both during the winter season and in the new service for the summer season, reinforcement measures have been adopted, mainly to increase frequencies on the bus lines.
During the winter season, from 1 November to 21 March, the TIB network was reinforced with an increase of 27 bus lines compared to the previous winter, an improvement of 53% of the total number of lines operating in this period. Likewise, for the summer season, this year the start of the reinforcement of the service was brought forward to 22 March compared to the last high season.
For the summer season, frequencies have been increased on a total of 24 bus lines, resuming service on sixteen lines and incorporating a new line (131) in the Serra de Tramuntana, between Santa Ponça, Banyalbufar and La Granja de Esporles.
Ten new compressed natural gas buses are expected to be added to the TIB’s current sustainable fleet in the coming weeks, increasing the current fleet, which currently has 201 compressed natural gas buses and eighteen electric buses.
About the reinforcements adopted for the summer season, in the Ponent area, the nuclei of Palmanova and Magaluf (104) have been better connected with services every 15 minutes in each direction, and, compared to last summer, the improved offer in the tourist area of Costa de la Calma also stands out, which almost doubles connectivity with Palma and Santa Ponça, with a new frequency of 25 minutes.
In the northern area of Mallorca, the late-night service on the suburban line connecting Alcúdia-Can Picafort (324) has been reinforced, reaching beyond 00.00 h with a stable frequency of 12-13 minutes; line 302 has been improved compared to 2023 by increasing the frequency to one bus every twenty minutes during peak hours and extending the service until 0. 10 am to ensure that hotel and restaurant workers can return home; and in the centre of Cala Sant Vicenç, line 321 has brought forward the daily start time to 7.10 am.
On the Llevant coast, the Cales de Mallorca line (416) has increased its services by 50% since the end of March, and in the Migjorn area, the Campos-Palma express services (501) have been added throughout the day. Concerning the Aerotib lines that connect with Palma airport, the A32 and A42 lines have increased their service by 10 % compared to the summer of 2023.