According to a statement addressed to the newsrooms by the CDU, the increase in car traffic in the Region is the result of the failure of the Regional Government’s public transport policy.
For the party, although the President of the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque, suggests that the improvement of living conditions is related, they do not believe it to be true. “The improvement in the living conditions of families is not measured by the number of vehicles circulating on the roads.”
Despite the free bus pass initiative for the elderly and students, the transport network continues to have flaws, such as reduced schedules, crowded buses, and areas without access, including neighbourhoods in Funchal and Câmara de Lobos.
“In Funchal, although there is a free pass for students, there is no school transport, thus forcing many parents to drive their children to school. Likewise, public transport does not respond to tourists visiting our Region, due to the reduced frequency of buses, namely to the North Coast, which only leaves car rental as an option. Even so, it is common to see tourists “wandering” on the roads at the weekend hitchhiking because they missed the last bus to Funchal. The current ticketing requires that casual public transport users pay for an on-board ticket that on average is 44% more expensive than a pre-purchased ticket.
This is a disguised way of increasing public transport prices, which is unfair, and needs to be challenged.
Overnight the price of a bus ticket from Caniço to Funchal rose from €2.20 to €2.60.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
