The third vice-president and Minister of Environment, Infrastructure, Territory, and Recovery, Vicente Martínez Mus, presented the new contract in Los Montesinos, highlighting that the service will have an annual investment of 3.75 million euros from the Generalitat.
As explained by the minister, this new corridor represents “a qualitative leap” for public transport in Vega Baja, improving connections between municipalities and facilitating access to essential services such as hospitals, universities, train stations, and Alicante-Elche airport.
The CE-710 contract will connect the municipalities of Albatera, Algorfa, Almoradí, Benijófar, Bigastro, Benejúzar, Callosa de Segura, Catral, Cox, Crevillent, Dolores, Daya Nueva, Daya Vieja, Formentera del Segura, Granja de Rocamora, Guardamar del Segura, Jacarilla, Los Montesinos, Orihuela, Pilar de la Horadada, Rafal, Redován, Rojales, San Fulgencio, San Isidro, San Miguel de Salinas, and Torrevieja with each other and with Alicante, Elche, the airport, the AVE station in Elche, the University of Alicante, and the hospitals of Vega Baja and Torrevieja.
The new service will feature 14 lines, a minimum fleet of 22 vehicles, and two reserve units. It will carry out approximately 43,528 annual expeditions, covering about 1.9 million kilometers per year. Key novelties include increased frequencies on connections between Orihuela, Crevillent, Elche, and Alicante, as well as new direct connections to Alicante-Elche airport and Torrevieja from various municipalities in the region.
Connections with the Hospital de la Vega Baja, the Hospital de Torrevieja, and the San Isidro train station will also be strengthened to facilitate daily travel for work, health, and educational purposes. For Los Montesinos, the service to Torrevieja will now have three daily departures.
Martínez Mus stated that the objective is to guarantee public transport that is “useful, accessible, and adapted to the real needs of citizens,” especially in a region with high daily mobility and a significant seasonal population.
The launch of CE-710 is part of the public transport improvement plan promoted by the Generalitat in Vega Baja, where other corridors like CE-714 and CE-704 have already been activated. Combined, these three contracts will mobilize nearly 10 million euros annually for the region's public transport and will operate a total of 28 intercity bus lines.
The minister also recalled that these contracts are emergency measures due to the risk of service interruption following the expiration of previous concessions. Meanwhile, the Generalitat is working on future definitive contracts, currently open to participatory processes for municipalities and citizens to provide input.
