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EMT bus in the Alameda Principal in Malaga. Ñito Salas
Bus strike and possibility of heavy rain threaten traffic chaos in Malaga today
Industrial action / Weather

Bus strike and possibility of heavy rain threaten traffic chaos in Malaga today

The Junta de Andalucía has ordered that a minimum of 50% of the EMT and the metropolitan transport consortium services must run on this day of national transport driver industrial action

Ignacio Lillo

Malaga

Monday, 28 October 2024, 06:46

Opciones para compartir

If you have to take the car to get around the city and the metropolitan areas of Malaga and the Costa del Sol this Monday , it will be best if you leave in plenty of time and with lots of patience. The combination of the national bus strike that has been called in Spain, together with the threat of rain, which could be heavy, is expected to leave a chaotic day for traffic in a large part of the province. It will be the final straw for traffic congestion which, as SUR has been reporting, is already unbearable for thousands of people every day on the main access roads at rush hour, especially in the mornings.

City and interurban bus drivers are starting their first day of strike action this 28 October. In the case of Malaga, this call will mainly affect the EMT and the metropolitan area consortium and school services. The reason for the strike is to demand the early retirement of drivers, through the application of reduction coefficients that take into account the hardship and risks of the profession. In the case of Empresa Malagueña de Transportes, measures aimed at early retirement are already being applied, although the unions calling the strike, UGT and CCOO, are demanding a greater commitment.

These groups agree that age is a determining factor, so that an elderly driver (with reduced motor, sensory and cognitive abilities) poses "a risk to his own road safety, that of the passengers he is transporting and of other road users".

Minimum services

The regional Junta de Andalucía has issued a decree, to which SUR has had access, which aims to "guarantee the operation of the urban and interurban road passenger transport service", by establishing minimum services.

In the case of regular inter-city public passenger transport services on regional concessions, minimum services of 50% have been established. The minimum services of the main operators can be consulted on the Malaga Consorcio de Transporte Metropolitano website. In general terms, this Andalusian government body reports that the school service and lines passing through hospitals will be maintained at 100%, while the rest will operate at 50%. However, it is possible that there may be alterations throughout today.

As for regular urban transport companies (EMT, in the case of Malaga city), they are also obliged to provide a minimum service of 50%. In addition, the Junta's order ensures that "the transport of schoolchildren, users of day centres for the elderly and care centres for people with dependency or disability, as well as transport to health centres, will be guaranteed in all cases". However, in this case, no mandatory minimum is established.

EMT in Malaga city

The Empresa Malagueña de Transportes (EMT) intends to guarantee mobility during the national sectoral strike called by the trade unions for passenger transport companies, both on intercity, metropolitan and urban routes, as well as on school buses, occasional buses and tourist services. Malaga city council said that the company will make available to its passengers all the necessary resources to meet, at least, a minimum service of 50%, according to the Junta de Andalucía decree.

The main lines, which are those with the largest number of vehicles and the highest frequencies, will generally run at least 50 % of the buses on a normal day. On the other hand, other lines which usually have a smaller number of buses will run at 100%. These are: 27 (Avda. Manuel Agustín Heredia-Santa Bárbara-Polígono Guadalhorce); 28 (Santa Águeda-Campanillas-Los Núñez); 29 (Jarazmín-El Palo-Jarazmín); 30 (Alameda Principal-Mangas Verdes); 35 (Avda. Andalucía-Gibralfaro); 36 (Avda. Andalucía-Conde Ureña); 40 (Paseo de la Farola-Sacaba Beach); C3 (Circular Parque Clavero); C6 (Circular La Milagrosa); C8 (Circular Churriana) and L (Campus de la UMA-Ampliación).

EMT has planned a schedule to optimise the circulation of vehicles in order to offer the best frequency. Users can consult the waiting times for the following frequencies on the panels at the stops, on the app and on the EMT website.

The city council has reminded passengers that this is a nationwide sectoral strike, in which the trade unions are calling for a reduction in the retirement age for professional drivers in all sectors of passenger transport. However, the staff of this local company already have a partial retirement plan from the age of 62.

The strike actions, as announced by the unions, will be intermittent, and will first affect this Monday, 28 October, from 00.00 hours (midnight from Sunday to Monday). After that, the following days are marked in red on the calendar: 11 November; 28 and 29 November; 5 December; 9 December; and finally, from 23 December, when it will be established for an indefinite period.

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