The PSOE proposes bus transportation be free for everyone in Ibiza

The PSOE proposes bus transportation should be free for everyone in Ibiza
Saturday's PSOE congress policy paper proposes the creation of a tax for vehicles entering the island to help fund the proposal.

Eugenio Rodríguez Martos

Thursday, February 17 2022, 7.37am

The policy paper of the congress of the Socialist Federation of Ibiza (FSE-PSOE) proposes that in order for public transport to be a real alternative to private transport, “the possibility” of “making it free for everyone” should be studied, following “the examples that are beginning to be implemented in many places in Europe”. “Our island has the right dimensions for this type of innovative, courageous and progressive experience”, highlights one of the star points of the policy document that will be submitted for approval on Saturday at the fifth congress of the PSOE of Ibiza, which will continue to lead the current secretary general, Josep Marí Ribas, the only one who stood for the post in the primary process. The new executive will be appointed on Saturday.

This policy document should serve as the basis for the drafting of the electoral programme with which the socialists will run in the next local elections in May 2023, in which they aim to regain the government of the Consell de Ibiza. The PSOE deputy Enric Casanova explained yesterday, together with the deputy Irantzu Fernández, that 112 amendments (54 additings to complete the points) were presented for the policy document, of which the majority (78) have already been incorporated into the text. The rest will be debated or put to vote at Saturday’s congress, which, under the slogan ‘Som Ibiza, som futur‘ (We are Ibiza, we are the future), will be held at the headquarters of the University of the Balearic Islands in Ibiza and will be attended by the federal spokesman of the PSOE, Felipe Sicilia, at the opening ceremony, and the secretary general of the PSIB and Balearic president, Francina Armengol, at the closing ceremony. The paper points out that free public transport should be applied (after study) with the renewal of the bus concessions, which the center-right government of the Consell (PP and Ciudadanos) plans to close before the end of this term. Currently, public transport is free for retired people and children under 18. The policy document justifies that extending it to everyone is “an investment in the future, well-being and improvement of the environment”. In any case, it then proposes the creation of a tax for vehicles accessing the island. “It is reasonable to claim that a vehicle that enters our island, circulates on our roads, parks on our streets and generates carbon dioxide contributes to mitigate the impact it causes”. At this point, it has been added, after the acceptance of an amendment, to  also limit the entry of the number of vehicles on Ibiza, as is already done on Formentera and proposed by the center-right government of the Consell but only for motorhomes and rental vehicles.

PSOE says more municipal revenue

In addition, it is proposed to ask the State to modify the law of local finances to allow the adaptation of “the circulation tax multiplier factor” in order to collect more and, thus, improve transport. “We understand that the commitment to the fight against climate change must be demonstrated. Offering free public transport and, in turn, making the cost of private transport more expensive may be one way of doing this,” he stresses.

For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.