The Mayor of Santa Cruz is asking for money for charging stations for electric buses.

The Mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, has asked the Canary Islands Government for financial assistance to set up an electric bus charging area. It is planned to be located near the transport interchange.

The mayor made this request to María Fernández, who is in charge of transport issues in the government, during a meeting last Monday. They discussed comments on the draft law on ecological transport in the Canary Islands, which had previously been approved by the government council.

Bermúdez explained: "We want to install charging stations for our 11 new electric buses, as well as for the 65 that are due to arrive. Therefore, we need to equip a special area for urban transport. This project will cost around 5 million euros, including the supply of electricity from afar. The director promised to consider this issue."

The mayor, together with the Councillor for Mobility, Evelyn Alonso, and the Director of the Department, Ofelia Manjón, also discussed other issues important to the city related to the ecological transport project. In particular, they discussed the rules for cars with drivers (such as Uber) and the commissioning of the Road Traffic Control Centre.

Bermúdez noted that "the regional director listened carefully to our comments on the draft law, which we approved in the government council." He added that "it is important that different departments cooperate so that the new law, which is currently being discussed, receives broad support. This will allow it to be applied in practice, taking into account the specific characteristics of the islands and cities."

Evelyn Alonso stressed that "it is necessary to simplify the procedures for approving development plans for ecological urban transport. These are important tools for implementing the transport strategy, which are approved by local authorities. These plans must meet the requirements of other institutions, especially the European Union, so that we can obtain the necessary funding."

"Therefore, it is necessary to speed up the development and approval of the Municipal Plan for Sustainable Urban Development, as well as to take into account the needs of Santa Cruz in future infrastructure, including the Trans-European Transport Network, as the city has obligations to the European corridors," she added.

The mayor stressed that "we have an obligation to Europe to have mobility centres that serve several municipalities, as in the case of the port or the transport interchange. The Island Council and the Canary Islands Government must support the integration of these centres into a mobility system that covers not only individual cities."

The meeting also discussed amendments to the law on the organisation of road transport in the Canary Islands, "which was approved in August. In particular, it regulates the activities of VTCs (such as Uber) and other similar companies," the mayor said. He believes that "the new law should clearly define that this issue falls within the competence of the islands. In any case, a new report is required to obtain a permit, taking into account environmental aspects, traffic and congestion. The Director-General noted that "VTCs operate at the regional level, but if they only operate within one city, we will have to ask the municipality for an environmental analysis." However, "the issuance of new licences will be suspended for two years, as the law does not allow it."