A record number of passengers used TIB public transport services in Mallorca in 2023 - buses, trains and Metro. The total number was 33.4 million, almost twice as many as in pre-pandemic 2019, when there were 16.3 million. (These figures don't include passenger numbers for Palma EMT buses.)
The increase has to be put down to the fact that residents with the necessary card didn't have to pay for public transport in 2023. 'Free' public transport was introduced by the Spanish government in the second half of 2022 and continued throughout 2023. In 2022, there were 22.1 million passengers.
The measure has been extended to this year, the Spanish government having approved a subsidy of 43 million euros, an amount which includes Palma buses.
Lorena del Valle, the Balearic government's director-general for mobility, says that public transport is a "great success". However, the increase in demand has necessitated improvements to services, especially during peak hours in the tourism summer season.
These improvements have already been applied to the 27 most in-demand bus routes, which cover municipalities that account for 84% of the island's population. In the summer there will be a further increase in frequencies. Ten more buses are to be incorporated into the bus network. According to Del Valle, improvements are with the aim of passengers not being left behind at stops because buses are full.
The buses attracted well over half the total number of passengers in 2023 - 23.5 million. There were just over eight million rail passengers, while the Metro had 1.8 million.