The Barcelona City Council has approved a proposal to extend the reduction in public transport prices offered by the ‘communes’ of the mayor Ada Colau beyond 31 December. Barcelona en Comú’s petition was approved this Tuesday by the Ecology and Urban Planning Commission. support PSC, CKD, togetherduration cs, PP and Valents abstained.
Janet Sanz, the deputy mayor for Urban Planning, advocated expanding the reductions in the transport network, arguing that “it wouldn’t make sense in December when all indicators warned that inflation would continue to stifle citizens and other discounts.” taking the subway or the Rodalies becomes a cause for concern”. Sanz explained that they do not recommend that the extension of discounts necessarily be the same as what is available.While Rodalies introduced free passes, subway, bus, rail and tram prices were reduced by 30% or 50% depending on the titles.
“Working is an issue, but you have to be around people”urged Sanz, who urged the central government and Generalitat to agree on the extension of the discount. The PSC, the government partner of the “communes”, aligned with the proposal, even though the Mobility councilor socialist Laia Bonet warned against non-payment of bonuses. “If the debate on the sustainability of public transport is not addressed, they cannot be sustained indefinitely”.
Election propaganda accusations
Opposition groups, on the other hand, questioned the petition submitted by the ‘communes’, accusing them of wanting to score points in their favour. ERC denounces “victory” To Sanz for confirming that Pedro Sánchez’s manager had borrowed Colau’s idea of making public transport cheaper. Junts warns ‘totally free is dangerous’ While Valents thought he was attending a “campaign rally” at Barcelona en Comú, he said he saw a “populist tic” in the proposal.
In turn, the Convergents accused the local government of not doing enough to pressure Madrid to resolve the Rodalies issues. In parallel, ERC is a Petition to the State to complete the transfer of commuter service to the Generalitat.
Instead, Cs believes the move to extend the cost reduction in public transport is in response to a political dispute between Barcelona en Comú and PSC ahead of next May’s municipal elections. PP councilor Óscar Ramírez also criticized the election for the formation of the mayor. “With this offer, Colau is preparing the new brochure for distribution on public transport”, Ramírez ironically referred to the recent distribution of some leaflets in which the ‘communes’ inflated their chests for temporary discounts on public transport. Sanz raised PP’s corruption charges to respond to Ramírez. “We’re more flyers than envelopes,” he snapped to the popular.