The Government will transfer 110 million to the Autonomous Communities to digitize the transport sector

The reduction of the price of public transport has also been addressed

MADRID, 6 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

This Wednesday morning, the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda held a meeting of the Transport Sector Conference in which the transfer of 110 million euros in aid for that the Autonomous Communities make the corresponding calls to improve the digitization of small and medium-sized companies in the transport sector.

In the press conference after the meeting, the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, reported on the distribution criteria, which are set according to the population of the region, and the details of the process for them to arrive to the autonomous communities and cities.

"These grants, which are part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, will allow companies in the sector to offer a more efficient, sustainable and modern service," Sánchez pointed out.

Andalusia will be the region that receives the most funds for the digitization of SMEs in the transport sector, with a total amount of 19.6 million euros. It is closely followed by Catalonia, with 18 million euros, and Madrid, which will receive 15 million euros.

REDUCTION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

The sectoral meeting also discussed with the holders of the branch of the autonomous communities the reduction of the price of public transport, as part of the package of measures announced by the Government to respond to the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine.

The minister explained that the criteria by which the reduction in the price of public transport season tickets will be applied have been shared with the Autonomous Communities.

Sánchez has expressed that this aid, for which the Government will allocate up to 200 million euros and that will allow the price to be reduced by 30% of the total, has a "tight but sufficient" term for its implementation, since It will not come into force until September 1, "coinciding with the return of many people to their places of work or study."

Regarding the criticism by some transport advisers of the regional governments of the Popular Party regarding the amounts, the minister recalled that it is the Autonomous Communities that have the powers in transport, so it is also in their hands to reduce the price of the transport pass.

In this sense, the Deputy Secretary for Autonomous Policy of the PP, Pedro Rollán, has indicated that the amount allocated to reducing the price of public transport is "insufficient", so the effort that the Autonomous Communities will have to make will be "very high" and "much more substantial" than the economic transfer of 200 million that the Ministry will carry out.

He has also criticized the distribution of the item for digitization, within European funds, since the Government, as he has denounced, has changed the model "drastically" and has wondered why the previous distribution criterion was wrong and the current one is the right one

ADDRESSING NEW BUS ROUTES IN SEPTEMBER

On the other hand, Raquel Sánchez has promised to address in September the request of several autonomous communities, including Galicia, for a new concession map of regular road transport services, which reduces routes from 966 to 510, fundamentally harming the world rural.

This was reported by the Minister of Infrastructure and Mobility, Ethel Vázquez, after the National Transport Conference, emphasizing that the issue of the map of concessions is "structural" and comes at a time when fuel prices "are skyrocketing and They keep growing."

Before the media, Vázquez has detailed that Galicia and other autonomies have transferred their "concern" about the new map, which they cannot "share". As he has specified, Sánchez has indicated that he "takes note" and that he hopes to be able to address the matter with the interested autonomous communities in September.

"Let's hope so," said the coselleira, who has suggested a face-to-face conference to address this issue and the draft Law on Sustainable Mobility, both "essential" for Galicia. "There are two regulations that are detrimental to peripheral Autonomous Communities such as Galicia and substantially reduce transport services."

Galicia and other autonomies sought to deal with these two issues off the agenda, focused on digitalization aid for SMEs and companies and transport aid by discounting the user's ticket price. However, according to Vázquez, who has insisted that both are "important issues" also to promote public transport, the Ministry of Transport "has not seen fit" to discuss the two measures.

In similar terms, Rollán has criticized that the minister did not want to address the new bus concession map at the meeting, which cuts up to 510 routes and up to 495 municipalities with bus stops, 74% less than now.

"Of the municipalities that now have stops, 3 out of 4 would be left without the provision of this service, which is not a commitment to combat depopulation or the use of public transport," complained Rollán, who trusted that finally it is not carried out and it is a "probe balloon" as was the announcement of tolls on highways at the national level.