The First Bus in Tenerife: How the "Hourly Crew" Changed the Island's Life

Imagine how difficult it used to be to travel in Tenerife! Mountains, ravines, steep slopes... To get from one village to another, people walked or rode animals along the "royal roads" that stretched from the coast to the mountains.

Later, normal roads began to appear, but even so, it took a lot of time and effort to get from the port to the mountains. Often, you had to change from one mode of transport to another, change horses, or even people who carried the cargo.

Therefore, when the opportunity arose to travel on a schedule, it was like a small revolution! In Europe in the 19th century, there were already omnibuses (like carriages) and trams, and Tenerife decided not to lag behind either.

On January 4, 1854, the first regular bus began running between Santa Cruz and La Laguna. It was the idea of the company Hardisson Hermanos, which raised money by selling 50 shares for 1,000 reales each.

They brought two 12-seater omnibuses from Marseille, drawn by six horses. A coachman and three assistants managed the business. At first, it was called "Omnibus", but the people quickly renamed it "coche de hora" (hourly carriage) because it departed at a specific time.

In its first year, this bus carried almost 9,000 passengers between the two cities, making three trips a day.

Of course, there were carriages that could be ordered before, but there was no such thing as them running on a schedule like this "coche de hora".

José Manuel Ledesma, a historian from Santa Cruz, says that initially the station for these buses was near the old market (now the Guimerá Theatre).

But since the carriages damaged the road, the city council forced them to move to La Luz Street (now Imeldo Serís), at the beginning of the road to La Laguna, on Rambla Pulido.

The journey was quite an event: in La Cuesta (at the post office), the horses were changed to allow them to rest, while the passengers and crew also took a break.

Inside the carriage, there were seats for women, and men usually sat in the front, next to the coachman. Luggage was stored on the roof.

How long did the trip take? It depended on the mood of the horses and how strict the coachman was with the whip. But it usually took several hours.

From 1860, other companies began to appear who also wanted to transport passengers. Together, they made five trips a day between Santa Cruz and La Laguna, and also traveled to La Orotava and Puerto de la Cruz.

There was also a daily trip to Candelaria – Arafo – Güímar, which lasted about five hours.

Thus, the "coche de hora" transformed from a simple novelty into an important thing that connected people, mail, and small parcels between the coast, the mountains, and the north of the island.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the tram appeared. It was launched in 1901 and became very popular.

The tram connected Santa Cruz and La Laguna (and later Tacoronte), and the "coche de hora" faded into the background, and then disappeared completely.

A few decades later, buses finally replaced horse-drawn transport, and the roads became much better.

But the "coche de hora" not only shortened distances, but also, one might say, helped people better organize their time on the island.