EXTRA LOAD: 3M VISITORS
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Majorca's bus services make a brave show
PASSENGER vehicle exhibits at next month's Barcelona commercial motor show will once again represent what is best in the Spanish coachbuilding industry.
Tourism is one of 'the country's major sources of income and the passenger transport industry — both road and rail — acknowledges this fact by the use of modern and comfortable vehicle equipment. Many of the coaches at Barcelona will almost immediately afterwards go into touring use for the summer season while most of the city buses will be typical of the designs which help to maintain an impressive standard of service in Spain.
In a microcosm of the Spanish transport scene psv operation on the off-shore island of Majorca is a good example of the role played by buses and coaches in a holiday region to which few, if any, tourists bring their own cars.
Admittedly hire car facilities are growing in popularity with the increased appeal of the island but for the majority of the thousands of visitors who land each week at Palma airport the availability of excellent bus and coach services on the island is a relevant factor in ensuring a successful stay.
For the package deal traveller the first sight on leaving the airport in fact is that of row upon row of clearly labelled coaches waiting to take the new arrivals and their luggage to various destinations on the island Contract work by local coach companies supplying vehicles to British, German, Swiss and Scandinavian tour operators has called for a vehicle density which is quite out of scale with what would otherwise be considered appropriate for a region of under 400,000 inhabitants.
Organisation of airport-hotel journeys and subsequent tour programmes are scheduled to provide a high degree of vehicle use with some all-day trips starting early in the morning while coaches carrying barbecue parties may not return to their garages until well after midnight for a thorough clean and wash and mechanical check-up.
The promotion by the travel world of short winter breaks has gone a long way towards year-round use of the island's coach fleet. Regular interurban bus services connect all parts of the island with the capital; there are only two rail links, to the north and northwest although the former is more reminiscent of a museum line.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of psv operation in Majorca is the provision of bus services in Palma (population 200,000) where the SAWA company now runs 85 buses in a system in which local needs are skilfully related to the secondary requirements of the temporary visitor,
The company carries around 30 million passengers per year of which just under 10 per cent are estimated to be holidaymakers. Twenty-one routes are served with headways ranging from seven to 70 minutes; only three of these are stlk conduc
tor-operated. To speed loading at some of the terminal points tickets are also sold to queuing passengers before boarding.
The city bus network replaces the tram system finally abandoned over 20 years ago, but changes are still being made in route patterns and inner terminals with most of today's services starting from one of three centres.
Some of the stops gave modern bus shelters with illuminated strip diagrams of the routes and most other stops are now clearly marked by metal flags.
Most of the SALMA fleet consists of Pegaso Type 6035 buses with two-door bodywork by various suppliers. There are also 22 Pegaso-Comet of a forward-engined design. There is a wider variety in the privately owned coach fleets of the island with all Spanish and most other European makes fully represented. Some older British AEC and Austin coaches still in use are good examples of the high standards to which vehicles are being maintained in this tourist region.