The socialist Mayor of Vélez-Málaga, Salomé Arroyo, has made a commitment to maintain three-way talks in an attempt to try and reduce the technical rate of the much-troubled Tranvia tram system in the town and to pave the way for the second section of the tram to be made operational after two years of delays.
The technical rate, the theoretical operating cost, is currently set at €1.68 per ticket. The actual cost of the ticket for the consumer is €1.30, which means that under the terms of the agreement, Vélez-Málaga Council have to pay the difference of €0.38 per ticket.
As a result, the Council has built up a massive debt to the tram operating company Travelsa and has been asking the Junta de Andalucia for funding to keep the tram system operational.
Meanwhile, the second section of the tram system was completed two years ago, but has not become operational due to the fact that Travelsa want the Council to settle their debts first.
Mayor Salomé Arroyo now wants three-way talks between the Council, the regional Secretary General for Planning, Planning, Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility and Travelsa, the operating company, in order to reduce the technical rate from the current €1.68.
However, the matter is now further complicated by a recent proposal by Travelsa to increase the technical rate to €2.94 per ticket due to increased operating costs as a result of implementing the new section of the tram system.
The tram has not exactly been popular as a mode of transport for the local residents, passenger numbers falling well below the anticipated levels. If people are reluctant to use the tram with a ticket price of €1.30, they would certainly not change their minds if the price were to go up.