Buses without air conditioning and deficiencies in the depots: the EMT workers raise their voices

PalmaThe drivers of EMT Palma have added new complaints about the state of the fleet and the municipal company's infrastructure following criticism leveled in recent days over the lack of operational vehicles and difficulties in incorporating new electric buses. According to staff sources, among the detected incidents are widespread problems with the air conditioning systems of many older buses. The workers, who have sent their complaints to ARA Balears and requested anonymity, assure that a significant portion of conventional buses are operating with climate control systems in poor condition because those in charge have allegedly not performed the necessary annual recharge.

Furthermore, they report that many vehicles cannot be used because they do not have all the necessary equipment, such as ticket validation machines, among other things. It should be noted that these validation devices not only serve to record passenger journeys but are also linked to passenger insurance coverage systems.

The criticism is also directed at the new facilities in Son Rossinyol, which are to become the future operations center for EMT to support the fleet's electrification. The staff assures that the facilities are still very far from the project announced by the City Council. The workers currently describe the site as an enclosed lot with provisional infrastructure, nothing like the center initially planned. The City Council presented this project within EMT's Strategic Plan 2024-2027, with an estimated investment of 20 million euros, an area of nearly 30,000 square meters, and capacity for 108 charging points for electric buses.

Works on the garages

According to the same sources, the situation will become even more complicated with the planned works at the Son Rossinyol and La Tàpia depots, also known as the Son Banya depots, due to their proximity to the shantytown. In this way, there will be buses at both depots, a logistical challenge, and many of the buses will go to the Son Banya depot, where several episodes of vandalism and theft have occurred, with cases where mechanics have found buses stripped or without batteries. Even, next to the depots, a skeleton was found in 2024.These new complaints are added to those recently made by the staff due to the lack of charging points, the breakdowns of the new electric buses, and the difficulties in maintaining the planned frequencies and reinforcements. The drivers insist that the current problems are a consequence of a rushed implementation of the new fleet without the necessary infrastructure to guarantee its operation being completed beforehand. "They are doing it to hang a medal on themselves," one opined.

According to the City Council's planning, the Son Rossinyol project will have 108 charging points for electric buses. The new operations center will have an approximate area of 29,325 m² and the cost of the facilities is estimated at 20 million euros. The City Council's initial forecast is to complete the infrastructure works between the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027.