Vélez-Málaga town hall to hold meeting with Malaga transport consortium following complaints by passengers

The inclusion of Vélez-Málaga in Malaga city's metropolitan transport consortium on 1 May this year has led to a significant reduction in ticket prices and a marked increase in passenger numbers. However, as passengers are no longer able to reserve tickets in advance and the timetable has not increased, the buses that do run are often full, passengers need to arrive early in the hope that they will get on the bus they need to catch and are often left standing at the bus stations in Vélez-Málaga and Torre del Mar.

Following numerous complaints from residents in the two eastern Costa del Sol towns and a petition which has been signed by thousands of disgruntled passengers, the mayor of Vélez-Málaga, Jesús Lupiáñez, is holding a meeting on Wednesday 15 July with officials from the consortium to demand improvements to the service.

According to a statement issued by Vélez-Málaga town hall the meeting will serve to directly raise the issues identified and to demand measures to adapt transport provision to the new demand generated following the fare reduction.

The mayor has argued that Vélez-Málaga’s entry into the consortium constitutes "a historic step" for the municipality, as it enables thousands of residents to travel throughout Malaga's metropolitan area at much more affordable prices. However, he believes that this progress "must not be marred by isolated problems arising from an adjustment process that we must resolve as soon as possible".

The town hall has confirmed that, during these first few weeks, the service has been monitored on a daily basis. Lupiáñez explained that the councillor for transport, Celestino Rivas, is in “constant contact” with both the bus company and the consortium to compile reports of incidents raised by passengers.

The meeting comes just a week after neighbouring Algarrobo officially joined the consortium – a move made possible by Vélez-Málaga’s accession on 1 May, which paves the way for other municipalities in the Axarquía, such as Almáchar, El Borge, Moclinejo and Comares, to join in the future.

The journey between Vélez-Málaga and Malaga city now costs less than one euro with the consortium card in certain circumstances, which has seen a surge in the use of public transport, particularly among students and commuters travelling daily to the city.

The opposition PSOE party has also publicly criticised the fact that many buses are already full from the early hours of the morning, forcing some passengers to wait for several services to go by before they can travel.

Lupiáñez believes that this process should be used to modernise the service, increase frequencies and adapt the bus network to population growth and the current mobility needs of the Axarquía, which are characterised by daily traffic jams on the approach to Malaga along the A-7 motorway.