The recent strike by bus drivers in Mallorca ended with an agreement that stipulated an extension of rest hours, both during the working day and throughout the working week. There was also agreement on increasing holidays and making overtime voluntary rather than mandatory.
All of this means that the Balearic Government, through the Mallorca Transport Commission, will have to restructure bus schedules and frequencies.
For now, the government's mobility directorate is saying that the new conditions and their impact on bus services will have to be thoroughly analysed. The priority will be to ensure that changes which will need to be implemented do not have a negative impact on passengers.
The Balearic Transport Federation, on behalf of the three bus operators in Mallorca, says everything possible will be done to ensure the new schedules do not undermine the quality of service. It adds that "it will be the companies who will have to bear the full burden". The workers "are going to realise the complications" that the adjustments entail. "They're going to see that it's not easy at all."
SATI spokesperson Juan Rodríguez of the SATI union argues that the changes shouldn't be too complicated if they are implemented with the goodwill of all parties and with passengers as the main priority. "One point is to concentrate short breaks of just a few minutes into a longer break."
Adjustments to be made are against the background of ever-increasing demand for TIB bus services. Up to July, this increased 5.5% to 16.8 million passengers.