In view of Juntos Pelo Povo’s (JPP) statements classifying the end of the pre-purchased on-board ticket at Horários do Funchal as a “brutal camouflaged increase in bus fares,” the Regional Secretariats for Equipment and Infrastructures has clarified the situation.
The statement begins by mentioning that the integrated ticketing system in use in the Autonomous Region of Madeira intended to “standardise transport tickets so that they could be used in any operator and on both islands, known as the “single pass” system, involves the implementation of a new ticketing methodology and the discontinuation of previously existing systems, which is why the “pre-purchased on-board ticket at Horários do Funchal has ended, as those tickets can only be used on HF buses.”
Pre-purchased tickets of the new ticketing system will be available at the end of March costing €1.45, for municipal tickets, and €1.95 for intercity tickets, creating savings of €050 and €0.65 respectively. It should be noted that the new tariff in force has benefited a large part of the population, especially from the municipalities farthest from the Funchal, as is the case of Porto Moniz or Santana, where the on-board ticket used to cost €6.00 and now costs €2.60.”
“It will be up to each user to do the math to work out if it will be more cost-effective to buy single/ pre-paid tickets or purchase a €30 (municipal) or €40 intercity pass that guarantees more freedom of movement.”
Furthermore, once there new ticketing system has been fully developed, the 1-, 2-, 3-, 5-, and 7-day bus passes will be reintroduced, as will Regional Tourist Tickets. The delays are due, apparently to legal procedures.
However, not everyone is happy with the explanation or the financial constraints the new ticketing system is creating, and the ADN wants a solution to the impossibility of purchasing pre-purchased SIGA tickets. For the party, mobility is compromised by the fact that the company cannot respond to situations like this. Surely a new transport system is created in advance, and therefore the ticketing options and needs would have also been addressed at the time the new system was being devised.
Now, says the ADN, passengers are obliged to purchase a Social Pass or buy a ticket on board instead of the usual travel passes. The party is concerned that this situation could drag on for another two months, “compromising the mobility of the population and inflating their daily costs, since many passengers need to catch more than one bus to reach their destination, and it is here that they are heavily penalised. In the past there was a 45-minute transfer time, meaning that passengers could catch two buses within a 45-minute time frame and only pay one fare.”
Now they will have to pay for four onboard tickets costing €1.95 each, resulting in an inflated price of €7.80 instead of €3.90. Making public transport no longer a financially viable means of transport.
The ADN proposes that, taking into account that although the new machines are being installed many buses still have the original ticketing machines and therefore people should be able to buy pre-paid tickets up until the new system is up and running. This is preferable to making the public pay for a lack of foresight in ticketing options.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
