Madrid announces suite of public transport measures as city recovers from COVID
Madrid has announced a range of public transport measures to respond to the ongoing restrictions from COVID-19.
The new plans include a 'de-escalation plan' for EMT (the city's public transport operator). The plan sets out steps to guarantee the provision of public services whilst keeping employees and passengers safe. The plan is based on several key pillars: guaranteeing and maintaining the health and safety of both workers and users, guaranteeing the provision of the public services that EMT is entrusted with, and restoring confidence in the use of public transport.
Madrid has also announced that 90% of the city's bus fleet to return to operation for working days at peak times in the face of the first stage of de-escalation (from Monday 25 May). This will see more than 1,600 buses circulating in Madrid at peak times. In off-peak hours, the fleet is reduced to 70% of normal operations.
A new communications campaign will also be launched to make it easier for disabled people to travel by bus as de-escalation begins. The campaign will focus on encouraging daily gestures such as respecting the priority of using seats for people with disabilities, people with reduced mobility, pregnant women or the elderly can be essential to guarantee their mobility.
An additional 45km of bus lanes will also be rolled out across the city. The increase in bus lanes is intended to facilitate the circulation of buses, improving the speed of operations and, therefore, the supply of seats provided by EMT. It is estimated that its implementation will increase the number of places available by 32,000, enabling greater social distancing.
Other mobility measures are being rolled out, including temporary traffic restrictions at weekend and holidays and new measures to support shared vehicles.