Torrevieja New Urban Bus Service - Temporary Bus Fleet Additions

[Carl]

This article might go some way to explaining the reliability of the new urban bus service that many users are complaining about on social media.

https://www.informacion.es/vega-baja/20 ... 65176.html

Google translate, minus video and images:

Torrevieja is using 18 buses over 12 years old for its new transport service; these buses were previously used in the Basque Country, Madrid, and Benidorm.

The new concessionaire Avanza indicates that these are vehicles to cover the transition period until the acquisition of the new fleet of 32 buses, which will be completed in 2027, and that the measure is supported by the terms and conditions.

"Geralekua eskatuta" means "requested stop" in Basque. This is the message that appears on the digital display when requesting a stop on four buses that have been serving municipalities in the Basque Country for twelve years, operating as part of Bizkaibus in the Durango region, and which Avanza has now used to launch the new transport service in Torrevieja. The contract officially began operating at the end of July. It took the Popular Party's governing team more than six years of bureaucratic procedures to finalize the tender. Prior to 2019, the City Council had already worked, unsuccessfully, on municipalizing the service.

The multinational Avanza, which will receive €115 million over ten years for the service — €11 million annually — has resorted to a temporary fleet that includes at least 18 buses from other group services that have already been used in the Basque Country, Madrid, and Benidorm. This represents more than half of the 32 buses required for the service, according to fleet tracking databases. The transport company confirmed to INFORMACIÓN the origin of the vehicles, but did not specify their total number or age.

Transfers and assignments

These aren't new buses purchased specifically for Torrevieja, but rather vehicles transferred or loaned from other regions where it appears they were replaced by newer models. In total, there are four buses from Durangaldea (Bizkaia , nine from Madrid, and five from Benidorm. The latter, painted blue, seem a perfect fit for Torrevieja, as they match the city's official color. The new buses the company has added to its fleet for Torrevieja in recent years offer superior technical specifications compared to the ones that have just arrived.

The governing team, led by Eduardo Dolón, presented the service rather discreetly, given that it's a multi-million euro contract. Aware that they wouldn't be able to promote the launch with great fanfare, they framed it as a phased renewal that began on July 27th and, as they anticipated, won't be completed until 2027, when the 32 permanent low-emission buses — 26 hybrid and 6 electric — are scheduled to be incorporated. The current vehicles are not only not new, but they have between 800,000 and 1.2 million kilometers on the odometer. In some cases, they reach up to 1.3 million kilometers, as INFORMACIÓN has been able to verify. This represents extremely intensive use of the vehicles, yet they scrupulously comply with the contract specifications, which allow the use of buses up to fourteen years old during the transition period.

Breakdowns and problems every day

The drivers of these second- and even third-life vehicles struggle daily with constant mechanical problems. On many days, they are out of service, which also affects the schedules and frequencies of the lines. For users, the most obvious deficiency is the breakdown of the air conditioning systems, aside from the lack of basic features in a modern service such as card payments, the use of travel passes, or real-time information on frequencies and stop arrivals. All of that will have to wait.

Vehicle manufacturing

The new network comprises 12 lines, 9 daytime and 3 nighttime, with greater territorial coverage, increased frequency, and a digital system that, according to the municipal schedule, will be implemented in phases. Therefore, the fleet that Avanza already had, which was providing the service before this tender, had to be almost doubled. The company adds that the process of incorporating new buses is complex due to vehicle manufacturing times. During the transition period, and until the new fleet is incorporated between March and June 2027 — in time for the pre-election campaign — "a temporary fleet is being used, consisting of buses that were already owned by the operator and were providing services in various locations across the country, such as Madrid and the Basque Country."

The Councillor for Transport, Antonio Vidal (PP), chose not to answer this newspaper's questions about the shortcomings of the start of the new service, which are especially affecting passengers who use this transport daily.

The data

The group of buses from the Basque Country, where the bilingual message is maintained, consists of those identified on the front of the body with the numbers 9151, 9152, 9153, and 9154, registered between 2014 and 2015, and originally from Avanza Durangaldea/Bizkaibus. This Basque group is approximately 12 years old . Assuming an intensive operating range of between 70,000 and 100,000 kilometers per year, each bus could have traveled between 840,000 and 1.2 million kilometers.

The second group arrives from Madrid . It includes buses numbered 9143, 9144, 9145, 9146, 9147, 9148, 9149, 9150, and 9155. The first six come from the Empresa Turística de Autobuses (Tourist Bus Company ), part of Autobuses de Oriente, owner of Avanza, and later went into service with the Regional Transport Consortium of the Community of Madrid. The Torrevieja bus passengers, in this case, aren't even a second choice: they're just dessert, relegated to reusing a vehicle that has already served two destinations. Furthermore, another of these buses has previously served with the urban bus company in Getafe. The Madrid buses are between 11 and 12 years old and, as their most significant change, have been repainted. They have also traveled approximately one million kilometers.

The third deployment comes from Benidorm. These are buses 0941, 0942, 0943, 0944, and 0945, from Benidorm's urban transport service, temporarily transferred to Torrevieja. They depart from the usual red paint of the Torrevieja service. They are painted blue. With this change of color, the City Council wanted to present the new service as if these units were newly acquired, as shown in the image they shared on social media. However, these buses, although somewhat newer, are around 10 or 11 years old.

Improvements when the fleet arrives

When the new buses arrive, they are expected to incorporate onboard digital systems to provide real-time information on schedules and frequencies, validate tickets with mobile devices, and pay directly by bank card. Currently, there are only two options: pay €1.60 in cash or, for registered residents, continue using the citizen card, which allows free travel until October. This has helped to reduce criticism of the change, which centers on the highly controversial decision to force a large percentage of users residing in the southern neighborhoods of the municipality — Los Balcones, Los Altos, Rocío del Mar, Señorío de Gomendio, and Punta Prima — to transfer to the hospital. This change requires taking two or even three buses to reach their destination. These passengers, who currently travel free, represent approximately 50% of the total in summer and 80% in winter.

Stops

Another frequent complaint is the lack of renovation of the bus stops. There are 200 stops that need shelters, signage, and, ideally, public restrooms. Two interchanges will also need to be built. Almost all of them will have real-time bus arrival information. This contract is the responsibility of the City Council, not the concessionaire, and its completion is also scheduled for early 2027.