Political division over transport consortium in Torrox

The process of incorporating Torrox on the eastern Costa del Sol into the Malaga metropolitan transport consortium has opened up a new political confrontation in the Axarquía town, with accusations flying between the socialist PSOE municipal group and the centre-right PP-led council, which governs with an absolute majority.

The PSOE spokesperson, Mari Nieves Ramírez, has publicly criticised the PP's "lack of action’" arguing that joining the consortium is long overdue despite the initiative having been approved over a year ago at a full council meeting.

Ramírez said that her group put forward the proposal in February 2025 to integrate Torrox into the body, which is under the jurisdiction of the Andalusian regional government, with the aim of improving transport and making public transport more affordable. However, she stated that “the paperwork should be more than ready” by now, especially given that other nearby municipalities such as Vélez-Málaga have recently joined.

The PSOE maintains that the delay is not due to technical issues, but to a lack of foresight on the part of the PP team. “They knew that other municipalities were going to take this step and yet Torrox is lagging behind because it failed to do its homework on time,” Ramírez, who believes that the municipality is “missing out on opportunities” due to the inaction of mayor Óscar Medina’s team, said.

In response to these accusations, the spokesperson for the PP’s municipal group, José Manuel Fernández, has hit back strongly, accusing the PSOE of “a profound lack of administrative understanding” and even of acting in “bad faith” by questioning the process.

Fernández argued that Torrox’s accession was not viable until just a few days ago due to a key technical requirement: the need to border a town already part of the consortium. In this regard, he explained that this condition was not met until 1 May, the date on which Vélez-Málaga’s entry was formalised.

The PP leader described this as a “turning point” that now opens the “legal window” for Torrox to begin the procedure, as the border requirement has been met via the Lagos area. “It is not a lack of effort, it is rigour,” he asserted, emphasising that the council had waited until the process had legal guarantees.

The PP spokesperson has also announced that the town hall will shortly be putting forward a formal proposal to join the consortium to the full council, backed by a ‘robust’ dossier that meets the technical requirements set out in the regulations.

Beyond the political row, joining the consortium is seen as a key measure to improve transport on the eastern Costa del Sol. Membership would allow residents of Torrox to access the single transport card, offering significant discounts on both urban journeys and connections to Malaga city centre and nearby towns such as Rincón de la Victoria.

Fernández highlighted that these savings could reach up to 80 per cent on some journeys, while defending the free transport scheme introduced by the town hall for registered residents, which he described as “pioneering in Andalucía".

The debate is taking place against a backdrop of growing demand for transport solutions in the Axarquía, where private car use remains the norm and public transport continues to suffer from long-standing limitations in terms of frequency, coverage and connections between towns.

With Vélez-Málaga joining the consortium and the expected start of the process in Torrox, the Axarquía is moving towards greater integration into the metropolitan transport system, although the pace and management of this process continue to generate political controversy at a local level.