The Tranvia tram system in Vélez-Málaga has not been an overwhelming success as far as passenger numbers are concerned and the Council is looking at ways of encouraging people to use this mode of transport.
One idea under consideration is reducing the ticket price from €1.30 to €1.00 and with the possibility, within a specified time period, of transferring between bus and tram to complete a particular journey.
In the first year of service, 2007, some 922,135 people used the tram. The target set for 2008 was 1,144,440 passengers, but the actual figure was less than 800,000, a serious and worrying decline. The same route can currently be traveled by bus for €0.95.
With the introduction of a new section of tram line, the actual cost of a ticket should be €1.83, which means that introducing a €1.00 fare will see the Council fall further into debt. The Council has currently built up a debt of €2 million since the introduction of the tram system. However, they now seem to accept that a public transport system is never going to make money and are acting accordingly, concentrating on improving the system and encouraging people to actually use the tram.