If Homer were alive, he would talk about trains and buses

“There is not, by a long shot, a general problematic situation with public transport or chaos.” These words from the Minister of Housing, Territory and Mobility, José Luis Mateo, lead me to conclude that this gentleman has not taken a bus or a train throughout his term, except when it comes to putting a Government delegation in an empty carriage to give some speech that fits the same description: empty.

These days we have suffered more than ever the shortcomings of the public service we all pay for. We live in a dystopian situation and endure an odyssey to get to work or go home. If Homer were alive, Odysseus would experience agony trying to get home on an SFM train or a TIB bus. The Greek creator would have plenty of material, because we have public transport befitting third-class citizens.

If you pop into the Intermodal to catch a train or a bus, the first thing you'll notice is that this infrastructure is not at all prepared for summer in a Mediterranean region. The temperature is unbearable. For healthy people it's very annoying, but for the elderly, children, sick people, and pregnant women it's dangerous. In fact, I'm surprised there hasn't been an accident in that oven yet. Not to mention workers like the cleaning staff, whose working day takes on the dimension of a divine punishment. If hell exists, it must be a very similar place.

If you take a bus, you'll see how the vehicle makes its way with the aisle full of people who couldn't sit down, holding on as best they can and enduring the jolts. And don't think you'll cool off in the end. Canned sardines don't feel the air passing around them.

Exactly the same on the trains. You just have to look around and contemplate the resigned faces. Rulers do not deserve a citizenry like ours, which endures humiliating situations. Yes, I have not mistaken the word: traveling by public transport in Mallorca today is humiliating.

We're talking about workers, young people who have met up with their friends, conscious tourists who haven't rented a car and prefer to use public transport, elderly gentlemen and ladies trying to get to the doctor, people who need to sort out some paperwork... All humiliated by the negligence of the rulers, propagandists who praise their imaginary achievements and who travel around the island in official vehicles.