The Valencia Provincial Council has approved a €350,000 grant for Buñol, intended to strengthen urban transport within the municipality. This contribution will enable the acquisition of a new bus to improve the service connecting the two ends of the town, which is characterized by complex terrain. Mayor Virginia Sanz highlighted the importance of this provision, stating that the Provincial Council demonstrates its closeness to Buñol's needs.
The town council is already working on acquiring the new vehicle, with the tender process underway. The new bus is expected to be operational within a few months. The mayor positively assessed the aid, emphasizing that the service is widely used, primarily by individuals over 50 years old, mostly women, who travel between the town's different elevations. The deputy mayor and councilor for Municipal Services, Sergio Galarza, added that the route facilitates citizen mobility.
The town council has drawn inspiration from the free urban transport model in Ontinyent, the capital of La Vall d’Albaida. The Vice President of the Provincial Council, Natàlia Enguix, noted that in Ontinyent, the number of passengers increased from 30,000 to 180,000 after introducing the free service. Galarza confirmed having contacted the vice president to apply this model to Buñol.
The provincial subsidy will also be allocated to improvements at bus stop shelters, once the cost of the new vehicle is finalized. Once operational, a campaign to promote public transport will be launched, and the process to make it free will commence. It is estimated that a full tour of the town will be possible in forty minutes.
Vice President Enguix stressed that administrations should subsidize basic services that improve quality of life, such as public transport. The President of the Provincial Council, Vicent Mompó, applauded Buñol's project, highlighting that it will particularly benefit those who travel daily to essential facilities like the medical center located in the upper part of town. He emphasized the collaboration as an example of the institution's proximity to municipalities.
The town council has studied the profile of current users, who pay one euro per ticket, to estimate the cost of making the service free. The next step will be to process the paperwork for its implementation, once the service has been strengthened with the new vehicle. Provincial officials have positively assessed the utilization of resources by Virginia Sanz's team, which is also investing over two million euros from the Pla Obert in improvements to sports facilities, the water cycle, and public spaces.
