Tram service won’t be extended until after the elections

OPERATION of the second phase of the tram service in Velez-Malaga will not start until after the municipal elections on May 22. The current mayor and PSOE candidate in the town, Salome Arroyo, has said that the second part of the tram route, between Parque Jurado Lorca and the Explanada de la Estacion, on which work was completed more than two years ago, and which will add two new stops to the service, will not begin to run until after the elections.

This, she claims, is because the Junta de Andalucia has still not approved funds for the three trams which are needed and which amount to €4.5m.

The Junta de Andalucia has promised to lend this money to the town hall and relieve the debt of the company running the service, Travelsa. The town hall would have to pay it back over 20 years.

Travelsa has imposed the condition of setting a new technical fare, which would be based on the real cost of the trip, to start running the service in the second phase. The current fare is €1.68, but the new fare would be calculated depending on the expense of extending the service.

They have proposed increasing it to €2.25.

The town hall currently subsidizes 38 cents for each ticket, the difference between the sale price to the public (€1.30) and the technical fare (€1.68).

The mayor also said that before the service can begin, tests have to be carried out to check that all systems are functioning correctly. Since the route was completed two years ago, with an €8m investment, no maintenance work has been carried out.