The Transportes de les Illes Balears (TIB) intercity bus network is ramping up its services for the summer season starting Friday, 22 March with an enhanced range of offerings. This includes upgrades to a total of 24 routes with increased frequencies and extended schedules. In addition, 11 more lines will resume operations in the peak season, including the four routes serving the airport. A new bus route will also be introduced in the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range.
In line with our commitment to improving public transport and in support of the Balearic Government’s initiative to reduce the seasonality of tourism on the island, the service upgrade is planned earlier this year, on 22 March. This coincides with the opening of numerous tourist facilities and extends the availability of scheduled services in the high season. By comparison, in 2023 the service improvements began on 1 April, last year on 8 April and in previous years usually not until the beginning of May.
This reinforcement for the high season months is a continuation of the improvements made by the Government to the TIB network bus timetables last winter, when the service was improved on 27 lines compared to the previous winter season. During this period, between November and February, the number of bus journeys on the TIB network increased by 61.37% compared to the same period last season. This is higher than the average increase in bus services for the whole of 2023 (55.6% compared to 2022).
The Minister for Housing, Territory, and Mobility, Marta Vidal, along with the Director General of Mobility, Lorena del Valle, announced this Monday the updates to the TIB network's summer service for 2024 and said that this improvement underscores the Balearic Government's dedication to improving public transport services and encouraging their use. Details were given at the press conference of the improvements made to the service, including the creation of a new bus line to the Serra de Tramuntana that will connect several municipalities.
In the Serra, this new TIB bus line (L131) will start operating on 22nd March between Santa Ponça and La Granja de Esporles, running through Peguera, Camp de Mar, Andratx, Estellencs and Banyalbufar. As a result, it will now be possible to travel the entire Serra from north to south by public transport, linking lines 231 (between Port de Pollença and Sóller), 203 (between Sóller and S'Esgleieta), 202 (between S'Esgleieta- Canet and Estellencs) and 131 (between Estellencs and Andratx). Furthermore, La Granja de Esporles is a good starting or finishing point for the Es Camí des Correu excursion, traditionally done by bus and on foot (or vice versa). To complete the service to the Serra de Tramuntana, on 22 March the TIB line 231 Alcúdia - Port de Sóller will also be launched.
In the Ponent area, Palma Nova and Magaluf (line 104), will remain the hubs with the highest demand for transportation services, with an average circulation of 12-15 minutes in each direction. Compared to 2023, there will be an improvement to the late-night service, which will see an increased frequency from every 30 minutes to every 25-30 minutes, with the last buses now departing at 1:00 a.m. instead of 0:30 a.m. This change is intended to better accommodate the needs of workers in the area.
Compared to last summer, there is also a notable improvement in the service to the Costa de la Calma tourist area, which will nearly double its connections to Palma and Santa Ponça with buses now running at 25-minute intervals.
In another region, in the north of Mallorca, a series of improvements are planned for summer 2023. For example, the suburban line 324 between Alcúdia and Can Picafort, similar to line 104, will extend its service beyond midnight and offer a regular frequency of 12-13 minutes in the late hours. In addition, line 321, which serves the Cala Sant Vicenç area, will start its daily service earlier, at 7.10 am, in order to better cope with morning commuter traffic.
In the corridor between Alcúdia and Can Picafort, the most significant structural change involves separating the traffic flows; on one side, towards Muro and the southern part of Sa Pobla, which will be covered by line 315 operating on an extensive schedule (from 6:05 am until 0:20 am); on the other side, towards the northern part of Sa Pobla, Inca, and Palma, serviced by line 302. This latter line will introduce notable improvements over 2023, such as a frequency increase to every 20 minutes in each direction during peak hours (the highest frequency ever for a service connecting the Bay of Alcúdia with Inca and Palma), and an extended service until 0:30 am, catering particularly to the hospitality and restaurant workers' commute home.
The airport route for this northern corridor, A32, will see a 10% increase in service levels compared to 2023; however, the most significant change is that the increase is concentrated between 4:00 am and 7:30 am. During this period in 2023, there were 5 departures from Can Picafort (one every 50 minutes), whereas in 2024, there will be 7 departures (one every 35 minutes).
On the Llevant coast, on 22nd March the lines serving Cala Mesquida (L422), Font de sa Cala (L423) and Cala Mendia (L427) will start operating. Lines 424, which will cover the Cala Rajada-Porto Cristo corridor, will also start operating, with one journey in each direction every 45 minutes, and 325, between Cala Rajada and Alcúdia, running every hour.
An increase of 50% in the offer on line 416 (Cales de Mallorca), which last year was not reinforced until well into the summer, on 19 June, has also been brought forward to 22 March.
Compared to last summer, the A42 airport line (serving the corridor between Cala Bona and Porto Cristo) will see its service volume increase by over 10%. Similar to the A32 line, the most significant increase occurs between 3:30 am and 7:00 am. In 2023, there were 5 departures from Cala Bona during this time frame (one every 50 minutes), while in 2024, there will be 6 departures (one every 35-45 minutes).
In the Migjorn region, the Campos-Palma express services on line 501 will now operate throughout the entire day to accommodate the increased activity of shuttle lines 515 (Cala d'Or) and 517 (Colònia de Sant Jordi), both of which will also increase their service offerings starting 22 March. Additionally, from this date, the current on-demand services from Sa Ràpita (to Campos) and Cala Pi will be transitioned to regular routes with a greater frequency of service.
Information on the new timetables in the lines and timetables section.
