Yet more potential chaos in the Balearics transport system. Employees of Transunión, one of the largest bus and coach operators, are to strike on 16 and 17 July on account of their being owed three months wages. This strike will be of those engaged in the public transport system and is therefore in addition to the wider strike on 21 and 22 July by workers in the private system (for transfers and excursions). Transunión operates the bus services in Pollensa.
See more: El Mundo
Showing posts with label Public transport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public transport. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Unravelling: Protests and opportunism
On one day, events come together that forge the impression of an unravelling. The word unravelling, in its literal sense, means an undoing or an unknitting of fabric. In an abstract sense, and as the word is often applied, it is an undoing of a different type of fabric, that of society for example.
The one day in question was Monday. The events that came together were a protest against non-payments to ambulance workers, a threat of legal action against the Balearic Government over non-payments to public transport operators, an announcement of sit-ins and a strike by university and secondary education students, and news of alleged over-reaction by police against protesting students in Valencia.
Charges of disproportionate measures being adopted by police in Valencia are not new. They were also made in respect of efforts to clear "indignado" demonstrators last year. The protests staged in many Spanish cities by the indignados and the responses by some police forces were, though, against a political backdrop that had yet to be properly coloured in. It now has been. And this is how it begins. Protests of different types. An unravelling.
At the weekend, there had been another protest, that against the national government's labour reforms. To the fore was Lorenzo Bravo, secretary-general in the Balearics of the UGT union, a Dereck Chisora-David Haye of industrial relations trash talk, upping the ante in publicising the fight with the government by labelling President Bauzá a fascist.
The allusion to Spain's history is a dark colour to be added to the swatch with which the political backdrop is suffused, one embellished by a legal system that permits a tarnishing of Spain's reputation. The actions of a right-wing union with undeniable Francoist sympathies, in forcing the pursuit of Judge Baltasar Garzón and in also seeking the subpoena of Princess Cristina, were born out of democratic sophism; the targets - Garzón's brand of legalistic independence and the royal family - are integral to Spain's democracy and they are being hounded.
The events of Monday and at the weekend and the manipulation of the legal system are not coincidental. They are an opportunistic and inevitable collision within the unravelling framework. Yet, the inevitability of, for example, the public transport operators' federation seeking legal redress might not become reality. Nor is it inevitable that individual bus companies might actually stop services, as they are threatening to.
There is always brinkmanship, and suspension of bus services by companies responsible for places such as Pollensa and Can Picafort, just as the tourism season starts to get underway, would be unlikely to happen. It is not as though we haven't been here before. Pharmacies threatened to pull down their shutters in protest at not being paid by the IB-Salut health service, but the threat didn't materialise, or at least, it hasn't materialised yet.
Things have moved on, though. Pharmacies not being paid was an issue soon after the change of regional government last June. The strains are far greater than they were and the roll call of services being cut or finding themselves without funds grows longer.
At some point, one of the threats will be realised. If it were that of the bus companies, notwithstanding the government's pre-emption by declaring a suspension of services illegal, the ramifications would be significant; in terms of tourism reputation if nothing else. And while the ambulance workers are protesting and the pharmacies remain unpaid, what of another element of the health service - hospital emergency units?
These units have become overstretched as it is, leading to resignations, such as that of the director of Son Espases' emergency department. When the units start to fill up with tourists who have either chucked themselves off balconies, had too much to drink or suffered a severe reaction to a mosquito bite, the last thing the hospitals (or the government) would want would be a "Sun, Sea and A&E" film crew hovering in the background, showing them struggling to cope.
The unions and the students are playing their expected roles as usual suspects when it comes to protest. Their actions will be easier for governments, nationally and regionally, to handle in terms of PR. But these actions are only beginning. Valencia for now, but over the next months?
When hospital directors, pharmacies, bus companies, ambulance workers - to name but a few - add their voices to those who might simply be dismissed as regular agitators, protest is less easy to handle. And all the while, lurking somewhere, is the opportunism of the non-governmental right and further right. On one day, events come together that forge the impression of an unravelling. How about 23 February? Do you know what anniversary this marks?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The one day in question was Monday. The events that came together were a protest against non-payments to ambulance workers, a threat of legal action against the Balearic Government over non-payments to public transport operators, an announcement of sit-ins and a strike by university and secondary education students, and news of alleged over-reaction by police against protesting students in Valencia.
Charges of disproportionate measures being adopted by police in Valencia are not new. They were also made in respect of efforts to clear "indignado" demonstrators last year. The protests staged in many Spanish cities by the indignados and the responses by some police forces were, though, against a political backdrop that had yet to be properly coloured in. It now has been. And this is how it begins. Protests of different types. An unravelling.
At the weekend, there had been another protest, that against the national government's labour reforms. To the fore was Lorenzo Bravo, secretary-general in the Balearics of the UGT union, a Dereck Chisora-David Haye of industrial relations trash talk, upping the ante in publicising the fight with the government by labelling President Bauzá a fascist.
The allusion to Spain's history is a dark colour to be added to the swatch with which the political backdrop is suffused, one embellished by a legal system that permits a tarnishing of Spain's reputation. The actions of a right-wing union with undeniable Francoist sympathies, in forcing the pursuit of Judge Baltasar Garzón and in also seeking the subpoena of Princess Cristina, were born out of democratic sophism; the targets - Garzón's brand of legalistic independence and the royal family - are integral to Spain's democracy and they are being hounded.
The events of Monday and at the weekend and the manipulation of the legal system are not coincidental. They are an opportunistic and inevitable collision within the unravelling framework. Yet, the inevitability of, for example, the public transport operators' federation seeking legal redress might not become reality. Nor is it inevitable that individual bus companies might actually stop services, as they are threatening to.
There is always brinkmanship, and suspension of bus services by companies responsible for places such as Pollensa and Can Picafort, just as the tourism season starts to get underway, would be unlikely to happen. It is not as though we haven't been here before. Pharmacies threatened to pull down their shutters in protest at not being paid by the IB-Salut health service, but the threat didn't materialise, or at least, it hasn't materialised yet.
Things have moved on, though. Pharmacies not being paid was an issue soon after the change of regional government last June. The strains are far greater than they were and the roll call of services being cut or finding themselves without funds grows longer.
At some point, one of the threats will be realised. If it were that of the bus companies, notwithstanding the government's pre-emption by declaring a suspension of services illegal, the ramifications would be significant; in terms of tourism reputation if nothing else. And while the ambulance workers are protesting and the pharmacies remain unpaid, what of another element of the health service - hospital emergency units?
These units have become overstretched as it is, leading to resignations, such as that of the director of Son Espases' emergency department. When the units start to fill up with tourists who have either chucked themselves off balconies, had too much to drink or suffered a severe reaction to a mosquito bite, the last thing the hospitals (or the government) would want would be a "Sun, Sea and A&E" film crew hovering in the background, showing them struggling to cope.
The unions and the students are playing their expected roles as usual suspects when it comes to protest. Their actions will be easier for governments, nationally and regionally, to handle in terms of PR. But these actions are only beginning. Valencia for now, but over the next months?
When hospital directors, pharmacies, bus companies, ambulance workers - to name but a few - add their voices to those who might simply be dismissed as regular agitators, protest is less easy to handle. And all the while, lurking somewhere, is the opportunism of the non-governmental right and further right. On one day, events come together that forge the impression of an unravelling. How about 23 February? Do you know what anniversary this marks?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Transport industry considers legal action against government
Bosses from the Balearics transport federation which represents companies that operate bus services are considering legal action against the Balearic Government for the non-payments that amount to 3.2 million euros for 2011. Certain operators face the possibility of having to suspend services on account of the non-payments. These include the Pollensa-based operator Transunion and Autolineas which provides services from Can Picafort.
Sunday, February 05, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Pollensa concerns over water and transport
Biel Company, who heads the Balearics mega-ministry of environment, agriculture and land, has met with Pollensa mayor Tomeu Cifre who expressed a wish that the cost of water from the Alcúdia desalination plant, on which Pollensa is partially reliant (it is the only municipality to draw water from the plant) should be reduced and that summer bus schedules should not be cut owing to tourism demand.
Monday, January 02, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Bus routes dropped in Mallorca
Five bus routes now no longer operate in Mallorca, lack of demand being the reason for their being scrapped. The routes include that between Pollensa and Sa Pobla (Line 342 for which there is no obvious public transport alternative), Son Serra de Marina and Santa Margalida (Line 391) and Muro to Sa Pobla and then Palma (Line 365). In the case of the latter, the train is the obvious alternative, and for those in Son Serra there is an alternative line.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - New public transport website
A new website, http://www.consorcidetransports.org, has been launched which should make the use of public transport services in Mallorca a little easier, and it includes bike pick-up and return in Palma. The site has an English section, and though it is an improvement on the old one, it is still a bit confusing when it comes to explanations as to zones and multi-ticketing.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Train Not Now Standing ...
Amongst the various measures announced by the Spanish Government to save energy and oil in light of the little local difficulty in north Africa is one to incentivise the use of public transport. An incentive, that of a 5% discount on local train journeys, does not, unless I'm very much mistaken, apply in Mallorca, as this reduction applies to services operated by Renfe, and Renfe doesn't run services in Mallorca.
Whatever incentive may or may not be flying around, therefore, would have to be one through SFM (Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca), the local operator. The problem is that SFM doesn't always do the greatest of jobs in incentivising travellers, because of its proneness to breaks in service. For ten months, following an accident near to Sineu station, the line between Sineu and Manacor had been closed. It re-opened on Monday of this week. Up and running once more, there have, however, been delays in the service.
The unfortunate accident at Sineu just added to the woes that SFM has had to contend with, such as a train catching fire and an attempt at sabotage on the line near Inca. There have also been other delays to services, the consequence of the process of electrification, which is due to be mostly finished by the end of this month. This upgrading of the network, welcome though it may be, disguises, though, the dashed ambitions of the current regional government.
When Francesc Antich re-assumed the presidency in 2007, one of his Big Things was that his new administration would usher in "the age of the train". With the words of Jimmy Savile not quite ringing in our ears, we waited on the platform of political promises for the arrival of trains to take us to Alcúdia and Cala Ratjada. And we're still waiting.
The two main rail projects were to have been the extension of the line from Sa Pobla to Alcúdia and the re-creation of the old line from Manacor to Artà and on to Cala Ratjada. Both have been controversial; one (the Alcúdia extension) has failed to emerge, the other has been dogged by problems, so much so that the Balearic parliament has now censured the transport minister, Gabriel Vicens (PSM - Mallorcan socialists), and called for a legal and technical audit of works.
Yet the Artà line had benefited from having additional funding, money that was finally diverted from the Alcúdia line, after months of bickering between Vicens's department and Alcúdia town hall as to the siting of the rail track and terminal had threatened a complete withdrawal of central government finance. The stand-off between the town hall and the department, regardless of any differing and legitimate logistical and environmental issues, was a nonsense of rivalry between Mallorca's two nationalist parties - the now defunct UM of the town hall and the PSM of the transport ministry. The result? No railway.
In spite of the odd accident, fire, delays, undelivered new lines and political handbags, the rail service in Mallorca is not bad. Like buses, the service is inexpensive. But, also like buses, it only does so much. Governments, such as the Spanish one, may talk blithely of incentives to change transport habits, but behaviour will not change when the infrastructure, in terms of network coverage, is lacking. And in Mallorca, there is a real issue in respect of where you put this infrastructure, as evidenced by the farce over the siting of the Alcúdia extension.
Another hope of government is that the public will eschew King Car in favour of cycling. Fine, but as pointed out the other day, there are issues of safety as well as facility where biking is concerned. The wish to create a new cycle lane across the northern tourism zone is fair enough, but how can it be done? In parts of the road that would accommodate this new lane, which would need to be much wider than is currently the case in order to confer genuine safety, there simply isn't the space.
Along one stretch, that from Puerto Alcúdia to Can Picafort, there has also been ambition for a tram service. And to one side of part of this stretch is a damn great, legally protected nature reserve. How could all the competing transport needs - cars, lorries, taxis, buses, bikes, trams, to say nothing of nutters on roller blades and tourist trikes - all be comfortably fitted in? They couldn't be, unless there was a complete change in attitude among the main road users - drivers of cars and commercial vehicles.
Mallorca has one of the highest levels of car ownership per head of population anywhere in Europe. The car is king. For a very good reason. Public transport services only run, or run with anything like reasonable frequency, where demand makes economic sense, which excludes a great deal of the island.
In urban areas, such as that of the northern conurbation on the bay of Alcúdia, roads devoted to multi-use, as envisaged with the addition of trams and new cycle lanes, could only hope to work were there a system under which priority was given to everything - and everyone (pedestrians, therefore) - other than cars and lorries; a system akin to that which exists in parts of the Netherlands. But in a land in which patience is not the greatest of virtues, you would have to wonder if such a system could ever function. And the same mentality would be unlikely to result in a major uptake in public transport services, incentives or no incentives.
Whatever central government might think, whatever the regional government might think (or have thought), Mallorca is not about to experience the age of the train anytime soon. Or the age of the bicycle.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Whatever incentive may or may not be flying around, therefore, would have to be one through SFM (Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca), the local operator. The problem is that SFM doesn't always do the greatest of jobs in incentivising travellers, because of its proneness to breaks in service. For ten months, following an accident near to Sineu station, the line between Sineu and Manacor had been closed. It re-opened on Monday of this week. Up and running once more, there have, however, been delays in the service.
The unfortunate accident at Sineu just added to the woes that SFM has had to contend with, such as a train catching fire and an attempt at sabotage on the line near Inca. There have also been other delays to services, the consequence of the process of electrification, which is due to be mostly finished by the end of this month. This upgrading of the network, welcome though it may be, disguises, though, the dashed ambitions of the current regional government.
When Francesc Antich re-assumed the presidency in 2007, one of his Big Things was that his new administration would usher in "the age of the train". With the words of Jimmy Savile not quite ringing in our ears, we waited on the platform of political promises for the arrival of trains to take us to Alcúdia and Cala Ratjada. And we're still waiting.
The two main rail projects were to have been the extension of the line from Sa Pobla to Alcúdia and the re-creation of the old line from Manacor to Artà and on to Cala Ratjada. Both have been controversial; one (the Alcúdia extension) has failed to emerge, the other has been dogged by problems, so much so that the Balearic parliament has now censured the transport minister, Gabriel Vicens (PSM - Mallorcan socialists), and called for a legal and technical audit of works.
Yet the Artà line had benefited from having additional funding, money that was finally diverted from the Alcúdia line, after months of bickering between Vicens's department and Alcúdia town hall as to the siting of the rail track and terminal had threatened a complete withdrawal of central government finance. The stand-off between the town hall and the department, regardless of any differing and legitimate logistical and environmental issues, was a nonsense of rivalry between Mallorca's two nationalist parties - the now defunct UM of the town hall and the PSM of the transport ministry. The result? No railway.
In spite of the odd accident, fire, delays, undelivered new lines and political handbags, the rail service in Mallorca is not bad. Like buses, the service is inexpensive. But, also like buses, it only does so much. Governments, such as the Spanish one, may talk blithely of incentives to change transport habits, but behaviour will not change when the infrastructure, in terms of network coverage, is lacking. And in Mallorca, there is a real issue in respect of where you put this infrastructure, as evidenced by the farce over the siting of the Alcúdia extension.
Another hope of government is that the public will eschew King Car in favour of cycling. Fine, but as pointed out the other day, there are issues of safety as well as facility where biking is concerned. The wish to create a new cycle lane across the northern tourism zone is fair enough, but how can it be done? In parts of the road that would accommodate this new lane, which would need to be much wider than is currently the case in order to confer genuine safety, there simply isn't the space.
Along one stretch, that from Puerto Alcúdia to Can Picafort, there has also been ambition for a tram service. And to one side of part of this stretch is a damn great, legally protected nature reserve. How could all the competing transport needs - cars, lorries, taxis, buses, bikes, trams, to say nothing of nutters on roller blades and tourist trikes - all be comfortably fitted in? They couldn't be, unless there was a complete change in attitude among the main road users - drivers of cars and commercial vehicles.
Mallorca has one of the highest levels of car ownership per head of population anywhere in Europe. The car is king. For a very good reason. Public transport services only run, or run with anything like reasonable frequency, where demand makes economic sense, which excludes a great deal of the island.
In urban areas, such as that of the northern conurbation on the bay of Alcúdia, roads devoted to multi-use, as envisaged with the addition of trams and new cycle lanes, could only hope to work were there a system under which priority was given to everything - and everyone (pedestrians, therefore) - other than cars and lorries; a system akin to that which exists in parts of the Netherlands. But in a land in which patience is not the greatest of virtues, you would have to wonder if such a system could ever function. And the same mentality would be unlikely to result in a major uptake in public transport services, incentives or no incentives.
Whatever central government might think, whatever the regional government might think (or have thought), Mallorca is not about to experience the age of the train anytime soon. Or the age of the bicycle.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Town That Didn't Want The Train - A Fairy Tale
The transport fairy gives and the transport fairy takes away. On the day that they came to officially open the as yet unfinished new terminal at Alcúdia's port, some other they were in the process of killing off the Alcúdia train - for the time being at any rate. At the cost of some twenty odd million euros the new port will be totally shiny and new later this year when the walkways have been finished. But they made sure to get it officially opened just in case and before the transport fairy could wave her wand and make it all disappear, which is what the malevolent and spoilt little brat was up to in the islands' parliament yesterday. "You shan't go to the Alcúdia station," said she. Or something like that. And I know, I know that was the fairy godmother, but she was still a fairy.
The money spent on the port was a drop in the bay of Alcúdia compared to the close on 100 million euros that was earmarked to churn up local finca land and run a ruddy great rail track through the auditorium. It would have been money well spent, but Alcúdia town hall played hardball - and lost in all respects. One member of the parliament said that the administration will pass into history as having been from the town that didn't want the train.
The report on the parliament proceedings was such that I confess to having lost the will to live when trying to make sense of what the various political parties wanted or didn't want in respect of Alcúdia, Manacor and any other tram or train. A plague on their various houses. The upshot is that the Alcúdia train, if indeed it ever is to see the light of a tunnel, will not be doing so as a result of the workings of the current legislature. So much for President Antich's "age of the train".
The transport fairy has been busy these past few days. She sprinkled some magic dust in Barcarès where there had been the little local difficulty regarding the development of the marina that no-one seemed to know about. Surprising to report, therefore, that over 2,500 signatures appeared on a petition against the development, which is over 2,500 more people than knew about the development when I went there (except the bloke in the office) and roughly 2,500 more than live in the larger Barcarès area (I do exaggerate here of course). But it was all something and nothing, as indeed I had discovered. The environment minister has said that there are no immediate plans to do anything and indeed nothing might well happen as the chaps from the ports authority have to weigh up priorities for the island as a whole.
The transport fairy looked down on the little port in Barcarès and smirked. "Why would you give priority to this?" And with a whoosh of the wand it was gone. Far, far away to the place with the magic finca land with no train.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Cliff Richard, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFakry_wgZE.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The money spent on the port was a drop in the bay of Alcúdia compared to the close on 100 million euros that was earmarked to churn up local finca land and run a ruddy great rail track through the auditorium. It would have been money well spent, but Alcúdia town hall played hardball - and lost in all respects. One member of the parliament said that the administration will pass into history as having been from the town that didn't want the train.
The report on the parliament proceedings was such that I confess to having lost the will to live when trying to make sense of what the various political parties wanted or didn't want in respect of Alcúdia, Manacor and any other tram or train. A plague on their various houses. The upshot is that the Alcúdia train, if indeed it ever is to see the light of a tunnel, will not be doing so as a result of the workings of the current legislature. So much for President Antich's "age of the train".
The transport fairy has been busy these past few days. She sprinkled some magic dust in Barcarès where there had been the little local difficulty regarding the development of the marina that no-one seemed to know about. Surprising to report, therefore, that over 2,500 signatures appeared on a petition against the development, which is over 2,500 more people than knew about the development when I went there (except the bloke in the office) and roughly 2,500 more than live in the larger Barcarès area (I do exaggerate here of course). But it was all something and nothing, as indeed I had discovered. The environment minister has said that there are no immediate plans to do anything and indeed nothing might well happen as the chaps from the ports authority have to weigh up priorities for the island as a whole.
The transport fairy looked down on the little port in Barcarès and smirked. "Why would you give priority to this?" And with a whoosh of the wand it was gone. Far, far away to the place with the magic finca land with no train.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Cliff Richard, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFakry_wgZE.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, July 25, 2008
Down In The Tube Station At Midnight
Almost a year after it was closed, the Palma metro is set to re-open on Monday. Let's pray there isn't a huge storm on Tuesday, or maybe we should pray that there is in order to test that the subways are indeed no longer liable to flooding. The whole fiasco has resulted in an over-run on budget, to the tune of some 50%, albeit that repair costs account for a mere - a mere - 28 million euros, which presumably takes no account of lost revenue. The net is now being cast to try and trawl in those responsible in a probably vain attempt at recouping the repair costs.
The metro should have been a prestige development; it may still be. Some have sought to question the wisdom of there being a metro at all, but anyone who knows about the traffic in Palma will say that it is worth it. Moreover, it is a further stage in creating what might eventually be something of an integrated public transport system. The planned rail extension to Alcúdia combined with a metro in the capital would, for example, obviate the need for many car journeys, which can't be a bad thing. And public transport is cheap, perhaps too cheap. A journey on the metro will be less than a euro. Not normally one to take buses, I was staggered, when I did, to find that the bus between Alcúdia and Palma cost under five euros.
When the metro was closed indefinitely last September, there was a vox pop in one of the papers to gauge reaction. "Makes us seem Third World," was one such. Perhaps so, but public works in other places and other countries are not always things of total efficiency within budget - in Britain for instance. However, a metro system in a city by the sea with its natural underground water table and one prone to massive deluges of rain was always going to be a project that required expertise and a watertight (as it were) specification. The fact that, apparently, some of that spec was changed - the diameter of tubing, for example, was reduced, or so it was reported - may well have contributed to the problems caused by inundations and the inability of whatever pumping systems were in place to cope with them.
But what, I wonder, does it all say about the island's construction industry, the one that is so important to the local economy? Maybe it says very little, but seven temporary companies having been formed from 18 companies in order to carry out the project smacks of too many jobs for the boys. The now Minister of Transport has acknowledged this, though not in quite these words. Looking to extract some reparations from individuals is understandable if only as a form of compensation for lost prestige; the structuring of the project in the first place might be a wiser subject for investigation and for learning lessons rather than protracted court proceedings and lawyer job opportunities.
BEEN HERE BEFORE
There is a danger of déjà vu, of repetitiousness, of annual visits to the same stories with much the same description. I can do it you want. They're coming back, they're on their way, watch out, get out of the water. The "Jaws" theme would be inappropriate but it is the only musical accompaniment that comes into the mind when faced with the terror of the story of ... jellyfish. I can do it another way if you want. The Playa de Muro sunbed wars may not have erupted like last year, but the excessive numbers of sunbeds and parasols is the same story as last year's, and the fines are there as they were before. The only thing new is the use of satellite positioning to check on them. Or I can do it in this way. It's fiesta time and there are the photos. The photos like last year's and the year before, filling the same publication space together with the same bland copy. Fiestas are integral to the Mallorcan summer season (they're also integral to the winter season, but be that as it may). I don't ignore them; of course not. But they are annual constants. Same as it ever was, save for changes to the bands performing (and many of these are the same). There is, or perhaps was, a freebie knocking around, the purpose of which seemed to be to present a bunch of photos of fiestas. I don't really understand it. I know one of the people involved and should ask him, assuming it is still doing the rounds. They're only really news or different if there is actually something new or an alternative take or angle to be sought - perhaps like the angle of dangle implicit in the piece about Patrona. Still, never let it be said ... Tonight after midnight there will be the grand fireworks display for Sant Jaume in Alcúdia. For all that the fireworks and the fiestas themselves may feel like Groundhog Day, they are always worth seeing and visiting.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Saint Etienne. In the absence of a youtube, here is another - the great, touched-by-Telstar, supremely retro "You're In A Bad Way" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF7uxhcGF8s. Today's title - who? Pretty easy stuff.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The metro should have been a prestige development; it may still be. Some have sought to question the wisdom of there being a metro at all, but anyone who knows about the traffic in Palma will say that it is worth it. Moreover, it is a further stage in creating what might eventually be something of an integrated public transport system. The planned rail extension to Alcúdia combined with a metro in the capital would, for example, obviate the need for many car journeys, which can't be a bad thing. And public transport is cheap, perhaps too cheap. A journey on the metro will be less than a euro. Not normally one to take buses, I was staggered, when I did, to find that the bus between Alcúdia and Palma cost under five euros.
When the metro was closed indefinitely last September, there was a vox pop in one of the papers to gauge reaction. "Makes us seem Third World," was one such. Perhaps so, but public works in other places and other countries are not always things of total efficiency within budget - in Britain for instance. However, a metro system in a city by the sea with its natural underground water table and one prone to massive deluges of rain was always going to be a project that required expertise and a watertight (as it were) specification. The fact that, apparently, some of that spec was changed - the diameter of tubing, for example, was reduced, or so it was reported - may well have contributed to the problems caused by inundations and the inability of whatever pumping systems were in place to cope with them.
But what, I wonder, does it all say about the island's construction industry, the one that is so important to the local economy? Maybe it says very little, but seven temporary companies having been formed from 18 companies in order to carry out the project smacks of too many jobs for the boys. The now Minister of Transport has acknowledged this, though not in quite these words. Looking to extract some reparations from individuals is understandable if only as a form of compensation for lost prestige; the structuring of the project in the first place might be a wiser subject for investigation and for learning lessons rather than protracted court proceedings and lawyer job opportunities.
BEEN HERE BEFORE
There is a danger of déjà vu, of repetitiousness, of annual visits to the same stories with much the same description. I can do it you want. They're coming back, they're on their way, watch out, get out of the water. The "Jaws" theme would be inappropriate but it is the only musical accompaniment that comes into the mind when faced with the terror of the story of ... jellyfish. I can do it another way if you want. The Playa de Muro sunbed wars may not have erupted like last year, but the excessive numbers of sunbeds and parasols is the same story as last year's, and the fines are there as they were before. The only thing new is the use of satellite positioning to check on them. Or I can do it in this way. It's fiesta time and there are the photos. The photos like last year's and the year before, filling the same publication space together with the same bland copy. Fiestas are integral to the Mallorcan summer season (they're also integral to the winter season, but be that as it may). I don't ignore them; of course not. But they are annual constants. Same as it ever was, save for changes to the bands performing (and many of these are the same). There is, or perhaps was, a freebie knocking around, the purpose of which seemed to be to present a bunch of photos of fiestas. I don't really understand it. I know one of the people involved and should ask him, assuming it is still doing the rounds. They're only really news or different if there is actually something new or an alternative take or angle to be sought - perhaps like the angle of dangle implicit in the piece about Patrona. Still, never let it be said ... Tonight after midnight there will be the grand fireworks display for Sant Jaume in Alcúdia. For all that the fireworks and the fiestas themselves may feel like Groundhog Day, they are always worth seeing and visiting.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Saint Etienne. In the absence of a youtube, here is another - the great, touched-by-Telstar, supremely retro "You're In A Bad Way" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF7uxhcGF8s. Today's title - who? Pretty easy stuff.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
It's A Gas, Gas, Gas
Two coincidental but quite illuminating pieces from "The Bulletin" point to the part played by transport in polluting Mallorca. Much of it is self-evident, but it does highlight how dependent the island is on motorised transport. The head of the natural gas foundation points out that people here are "unused to using public transport" and that this public transport is "underdeveloped". He also says that the fleet of rental cars has risen by 40,000 in the past four years (from 20,000 to 60,000), though it is a bit unclear to where he is referring. In the other piece, it is said that this fleet increased from 20,000 to 65,000 between 1992 and 2007. As always, a bit of editorial inconsistency, but the point is still clear - there has been a substantial rise. Moreover, the number of taxi licences (in Palma) has not increased since the early '80s and the number of school buses has decreased.
Mallorca is an island built on the motor car. It has the highest ownership of cars per head of population in the whole of Europe. It is largely understandable though. Outside Palma, even were the metro actually operating (which it is still is not), the public transport network is not good. Trains are largely useless, though the proposed extension from Sa Pobla to Alcúdia would be welcome. Buses can be ok, but when they press the reserve buses into service during the summer, you want to try driving behind some of the exhausts that belch out filth.
As a result, the idea of converting buses to natural gas, in Palma at any rate, is also welcome. Natural gas is on its way to the island, which should be an advantage not just for some transport but also for household consumption which still relies on the vapour-full butane gas, though God knows what this might mean in terms of pipeline laying and therefore ever more roads and streets being ripped up in order to create the infrastructure.
However much the authorities may wish to see a move towards public transport, they will have a heck of a job. This is four or five vehicle per household land, not just two. And where, one might well ask, would any further public transport be built? At the same time as concern is being expressed regarding the growth in the island's population (demanding more housing etc), the pressure on land use comes from all manner of needs - and don't forget the strength of the eco-lobby that would put obstacles in front of most land development. Natural gas may be useful, but only up to a point.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Alicia Keys. Today's title - where's this from?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Mallorca is an island built on the motor car. It has the highest ownership of cars per head of population in the whole of Europe. It is largely understandable though. Outside Palma, even were the metro actually operating (which it is still is not), the public transport network is not good. Trains are largely useless, though the proposed extension from Sa Pobla to Alcúdia would be welcome. Buses can be ok, but when they press the reserve buses into service during the summer, you want to try driving behind some of the exhausts that belch out filth.
As a result, the idea of converting buses to natural gas, in Palma at any rate, is also welcome. Natural gas is on its way to the island, which should be an advantage not just for some transport but also for household consumption which still relies on the vapour-full butane gas, though God knows what this might mean in terms of pipeline laying and therefore ever more roads and streets being ripped up in order to create the infrastructure.
However much the authorities may wish to see a move towards public transport, they will have a heck of a job. This is four or five vehicle per household land, not just two. And where, one might well ask, would any further public transport be built? At the same time as concern is being expressed regarding the growth in the island's population (demanding more housing etc), the pressure on land use comes from all manner of needs - and don't forget the strength of the eco-lobby that would put obstacles in front of most land development. Natural gas may be useful, but only up to a point.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Alicia Keys. Today's title - where's this from?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Taxi!
Public transport. Better public transport is needed for tourists travelling in the Alcúdia-Pollensa area; that, at any rate, is the desire of hotel chiefs in the north, according to “Euro Weekly”. This would also, so these same hotel chiefs believe, attract more visitors to the north. Really? How many more visitors would come to, say, Playa de Muro on top of those who represented 100% hotel occupancy for a time during the past summer? Is public transport, or the lack thereof, a deal-maker or deal-breaker when it comes to deciding on a holiday? I doubt it somewhat. More likely is the expectation that there will be buses but there will also be a squeeze, in which case no one is going to be too upset as the expectation will be met.
Better or more public transport will make little difference to the numbers of visitors, but there may well be a case for saying that it could help those visitors to move around more. I say could because for a fair proportion it probably wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference; indeed there is a fair argument for saying that some of the larded obese to be found waddling around in summer would benefit from the absence of any form of transport except a push-bike. But be that as it may.
Where do people go though? On a typical hot summer’s day in Puerto Alcúdia for instance, people are going nowhere except to the beach, and even for those in the more far-flung all-inclusives or Bellevue the walk is not exactly onerous, and if you want, you can get a boat much of the way from Bellevue in any case. The only days when there is any change to this pattern is on market days when, yes, there is a good argument for there being more buses. Otherwise, the greatest demand is in the evenings, and here there is a need, especially later on. Want a bus after 11 o’clock from the port? Forget it. Want a taxi? Try finding one. There are only so many taxis, which is why, on market days, Alcúdia Taxis have to call in the cavalry from Playa de Muro to assist (the Playa de Muro taxi drivers are not meant to pick up outside of their own territory).
The projected extension to the train line as far as Alcúdia and the proposed trams going from the terminus may be of benefit, but the one really useful addition to the public transport network would be a good train service to the airport. So useful that it will probably never be done.
And on the airport, also in “EW”, it is now the twelfth busiest in Europe. 22 million people used the airport last year, the paper says. That’s last year as in 2007. Hmm, whatever. Being at number 12 in the charts may not sound like much to brag about, but if you consider that Palma does not handle transatlantic and long-haul traffic, then it is fairly astonishing.
QUIZ
Yesterday – Sly And The Family Stone. Today’s title – remember the American comedy series? Who wrote the theme tune? And what is the connection between Taxi and the blog entry for 13 December, “Girls On Film”?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Better or more public transport will make little difference to the numbers of visitors, but there may well be a case for saying that it could help those visitors to move around more. I say could because for a fair proportion it probably wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference; indeed there is a fair argument for saying that some of the larded obese to be found waddling around in summer would benefit from the absence of any form of transport except a push-bike. But be that as it may.
Where do people go though? On a typical hot summer’s day in Puerto Alcúdia for instance, people are going nowhere except to the beach, and even for those in the more far-flung all-inclusives or Bellevue the walk is not exactly onerous, and if you want, you can get a boat much of the way from Bellevue in any case. The only days when there is any change to this pattern is on market days when, yes, there is a good argument for there being more buses. Otherwise, the greatest demand is in the evenings, and here there is a need, especially later on. Want a bus after 11 o’clock from the port? Forget it. Want a taxi? Try finding one. There are only so many taxis, which is why, on market days, Alcúdia Taxis have to call in the cavalry from Playa de Muro to assist (the Playa de Muro taxi drivers are not meant to pick up outside of their own territory).
The projected extension to the train line as far as Alcúdia and the proposed trams going from the terminus may be of benefit, but the one really useful addition to the public transport network would be a good train service to the airport. So useful that it will probably never be done.
And on the airport, also in “EW”, it is now the twelfth busiest in Europe. 22 million people used the airport last year, the paper says. That’s last year as in 2007. Hmm, whatever. Being at number 12 in the charts may not sound like much to brag about, but if you consider that Palma does not handle transatlantic and long-haul traffic, then it is fairly astonishing.
QUIZ
Yesterday – Sly And The Family Stone. Today’s title – remember the American comedy series? Who wrote the theme tune? And what is the connection between Taxi and the blog entry for 13 December, “Girls On Film”?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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