The Marbella urban bus service has registered more than half a million travelers in the month of August, the number of users also skyrocketing throughout the summer compared to last season by more than 51 percent, going from 928,366 in the months of June, July and August 2020 to 1,406,825 in this summer period. The Councilor for Transport, Enrique Rodríguez, has pointed out that the new features introduced this year, such as the integration of lines 76 and 78 (now 12 and 13), have improved the figure not only compared to last year, but also compared to 2019, with a rise of 17 percent. He also stressed that along with the increase, “safety has been a priority, with a series of very strict hygienic-sanitary measures to avoid risky situations.”
Strong increase
For months, June has been the one that has experienced the steepest rise, with an 80 percent increase this summer compared to last year, registering 416,306 travelers compared to 240,520 the previous year. It is followed by August, with 502,308 compared to 350,421 in 2020, 43.34 percent more and July, with a rise of 45 percent, going from 337,425 in the hard year of the pandemic to 488,211 in this summer period. In addition, only so far this year, not counting the last four months of 2021, the number of travelers has now risen to 2,634,504 compared to 2,902,305 in 2020, “so it is sure that the figure will be far exceeded this exercise ”, indicated Rodríguez.
The councilor recalled that this summer a series of measures has been launched, “anticipating the figures that we have registered with the aim of strengthening urban transport and adapting the municipality’s network to the growing demand for travel in high season, such as it has finally happened ”. Among the novelties, introduced by the Grupo Avanza concessionaire, the increase in L1 (La Cañada-Marbella-Puerto Banús) stands out, which has increased its service by 24 percent, rising from 84 to 104 daily shipments. Likewise, Line 4 has been extended, which has allowed the movement of sampedreños to the beach as in the previous year. For its part, Line 13 (formerly L78) has registered an increase of 52 percent with respect to the previous summer period, as has L12 (formerly L76), which has also experienced a reinforcement. “In total, shipments have grown by 11 percent”, clarified the mayor, who stressed that “the rest of the lines have also seen their schedules and frequencies modified to adapt to both traffic and increased demand.”