They claim that Cort wants to "discourage" bicycle use with the new BiciPalma rates.

PalmPedestrians Mallorca has accused Palma City Council of wanting to "discourage" bicycle use by updating BiciPalma fares starting August 1st, with an increase in both the annual pass and the fares for electric bicycles.

In a statement this Friday, the association complained that the Palma City Council has decided to raise the price of the public electric bicycle service, while freezing the hourly rate for public parking. With this decision, in the opinion of Pedestrians Mallorca, the City Council's message is clear: "They want to discourage bicycle use without doing absolutely anything to reduce the use of private cars."

In this sense, the association has criticized that "if what the Cort intends" is "to promote a healthier lifestyle in the city, it is doing exactly the opposite." "The temperature we're experiencing shows that we need more shade, cleaner air, and less traffic; in other words, more trees and fewer cars," claimed Peatones Mallorca, who pointed out that "combustion engines generate heat and further contribute to the rise in urban temperatures."

The organization also pointed out that "vehicle emissions contribute to the increase in coronary and lung diseases." Furthermore, it continued, "there is scientific evidence that demonstrates their impact (that of vehicle emissions) on other aspects of health, such as children's brain development."

For all these reasons, Peatones Mallorca wanted to send a message to the political parties that, in its opinion, "defend the use of private cars," and to the merchants' associations that, in its opinion, are "obsessed with parking": "Palma has become a space that cannot, and this is something, combat the heat, the lack of shade, the noise, and the level of traffic that we suffer daily."

"Bicycles, whether pedal-assisted or not, are a way to get around and should be promoted as the primary means of transport in the city," the association argued. It extended its "congratulations" to the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, for "having shown the world that another city is possible" and for "exposing political ineptitude."