A commission will be created in Tenerife to protect nature reserves from transport collapse

A commission has been created in Tenerife to deal with transport in protected areas. Special attention will be paid to the Anaga and Teide parks so that tourists do not harm nature.

Eulalia García, who is responsible for transport on the island, said that a "small commission" will also be created. It will develop the "Tenerife Sustainable Transport Pact". This will be a document agreed upon by all interested parties. It will be offered to various organizations, institutions and public figures so that they can make their proposals.

"This commission will include representatives from the University of La Laguna, entrepreneurs, trade unions and the Federation of Municipalities of the Canary Islands. Then the project will be shown to everyone who wants to participate in order to find solutions to Tenerife's transport problems together," García stressed.

According to her, the main goal is to develop a common plan so that people change their habits, use public transport more often and their own cars less, because there are already too many cars on the island.

In addition to this pact, it is planned to create several more special commissions.

One of them will deal with roads, and the other will deal with transport in natural areas, where the situation is "particularly difficult".

García acknowledged that there have recently been more problems with traffic jams, illegal parking and illegal transportation of tourists in Teide and Anaga. Therefore, it is important to cooperate with the department responsible for nature protection.

She added that inspections are already being carried out with the participation of the Civil Guard, the police and foresters. They detain cars and fine offenders, for example, in Cruz del Carmen or in the Teide forest area.

"If people do not follow the rules, we will have to introduce even more restrictions," she warned.

The authorities will also inform entrepreneurs and public figures in Tenerife about the progress in the development of rail transport after the agreement with the Ministry of Transport is signed.

"The train is an important project that will complement buses and make transport in Tenerife more environmentally friendly. For the first time, the state has officially committed to considering the possibility of building a railway in the Canary Islands," García said.

However, according to her, this is a long-term process, and she understands people's skepticism about such projects. For example, it will not be possible to talk about tenders until the end of 2027, and this will be especially difficult if a budget is not approved that includes funds for this.

Marta Domínguez, Vice-Rector of the University of La Laguna, was also present at the meeting and reminded that the university had changed its class schedule to reduce traffic jams during peak hours.

According to her, 13 faculties have changed their schedules, moving some classes to the evening or adjusting the start times of classes. She assured that the university is ready to cooperate in finding solutions.

According to the university's estimates, these changes have reduced the number of cars approaching the university by approximately 500 during peak hours. Surveys have shown that about 20% of students travel to the university in their own cars, sometimes using a carpooling service.