The Minister for Mobility, Lorena del Valle, chaired the second meeting of the Working Group on Safety and Accessibility in Public Transport, with representatives from different groups such as drivers and users, especially those who may have more difficulties, for them to present their problems and proposals for improvement in terms of accessibility and safety on buses, trains and the metro in Mallorca’s interurban public network.
This second meeting, which took place last Wednesday at the Ministry for Housing, Territory and Mobility, picked up from where the first meeting, which took place at the end of last October, left off. Issues discussed included the progress with the proposals for improvement received from participants.
Attendees included the Managing Director of the Mallorca Transport Consortium (CTM), Lluïsa Serra, who reported that projects were being drawn up to improve accessibility at the intermodal station, prioritising the renovation of the automatic stairs, accessible doors, the podotactile pavement, signs equipped with the NaviLens system or monochromatic change stairs, to be implemented this year and throughout 2026.
Information was also provided on progress with the on-board public address systems on buses, given that the announcement of stops on intercity buses will soon be available, as well as the improvement of public address systems in railway stations.
Details were shared about the technological advances in the TIB network, such as the new app for mobile devices, which will be accessible and will offer real-time data on when buses arrive at stops and their occupancy at all times. The app is expected to be fully operational during 2026.
Work is also under way on awareness and information campaigns in relation to safety and accessibility issues, both for users and workers.
The Government has received requests from different institutions and is committed to continue to make progress towards achieving a public transport system that is not only a real alternative to the use of private vehicles, but also a safe and accessible transport system for the entire population.
The organisations participating at the second meeting of the working group were:
- Institutions of people with disabilities: ASPACE, ASPAS, ASPAYM Illes Balears, CERMI, Esment, Centro Mater Misericordiae, ONCE and the Coordinadora Balear de Personas con Discapacidad.
- Business associations, user and worker organisations: Agrupación Empresarial del Servicio Regular de Viajeros de Balears (FEBT), Asociación Empresarial del Servicio Discrecional de Viajeros de Balears (FEBT), FACUA, SATI, UGT, CCOO and Consubal.
- Public authorities: Ministry for Mobility, Island Council of Menorca, Island Council of Ibiza, Island Council of Formentera, IBDona, Institute of Public Safety of the Balearic Islands, Ministry for Benefits, Pharmacy and Consumption, General Secretariat of the Ministry of Education and Universities.
- Public transport authorities: Consorcio de Transportes de Mallorca (CTM), Servicios Ferroviarios de Mallorca (SFM), Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Palma (EMT).