At the weekly meeting of parliament’s environment committee, a proposal for parliament to consider a public transport discount for car users who deregister their vehicles was approved.
Presented by the government parties - PSOE, Més and Podemos - the proposal is in line with a system that has been adopted in Barcelona.
This incentivises public transport use by setting a discount for a specified time to car owners who deregister. Were this to be adopted, it would be introduced once the new concessions for bus services in Majorca are fully operational and the revised pricing system (which covers all public transport) is in place.
Discounts would be calculated according to types of vehicle and their environmental categorisation.
The government would be asked to work with island councils and town halls in giving the scheme as wide a coverage as possible. The committee also called on the government to study other measures designed to reduce the number of privately owned vehicles, such as car sharing.
Joan Ferrer of PSOE, formerly Palma’s transport councillor, said that initiatives such as the discount have been successful in other cities, e.g. Barcelona and Paris. “It is a model to pursue in the Balearics.”