On Wednesday, the Spanish government approved a decree to provide 43 million euros for subsidised public transport in the Balearics.
This funding will mean free travel for residents who hold the necessary cards on buses, trains and the Metro. For buses in Palma, eighteen million euros are included in this package. It is up to the regional government to transfer this to Palma town hall.
Palma's mobility councillor, Antonio Deudero, has previously said that there won't be free travel in 2024 and that fares and discounts (plus free travel for pensioners and under-16s) will revert to what they were in 2019.
There may well now be a rethink. Prior to Wednesday's announcement, the Balearic government had already made a commitment to free travel in 2024. For Deudero and Palma town hall - Partido Popular like the government - there will be pressure for a rethink.
The general secretary of the PSOE opposition in the Balearics, Francina Armengol, said on Wednesday morning that this transport provision was an example of the work of her party in the Balearics, one which "responds to the interests of the Balearic Islands whether in government or in opposition".
Also the president of Congress, Armengol added that the Spanish government "continues to work intensely for the rights of the region and for the citizens of the islands".
Armengol referred to public transport schemes. It was "incomprehensible" that the Balearic government would give up on extending the rail network and on the Palma tram. PSOE will continue to insist on the tram and on the line from Manacor to Arta. "The Balearic socialists, even though we are in opposition, are infinitely more useful than those who are ruling in the Balearic Islands."