The Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, José Luis Ábalos, has ensured that the three fundamental objectives of his Department in the face of the situation created by the coronavirus are: to restrict mobility to the maximum, guaranteeing the minimum necessary and safety in these displacements, facilitating transport that ensures supply and prevents the fight against the pandemic from spreading to the economy of families and the most vulnerable.
During the press conference offered today at the Palacio de la Moncloa with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, the minister announced that a Ministerial Order will be published tomorrow so that the operators of the different modes of transport are adapting the supply to demand and, consequently, continue reducing public transport services, and guaranteeing health recommendations in terms of distancing users.
This measure advances in the line of redesigning a very restricted and safe mobility scheme, which contributes to putting a stop to the pandemic by avoiding the spread of the virus, without affecting the journeys necessary to care for basic services and access to the jobs.
Specifically, the minister has announced the following:
Rail and land transportation
• Commuter services go from 100% established in the Royal Decree that declared the state of alarm, to a reduction in off-peak hours of 50%, maintaining up to 80% of the frequencies at peak times to guarantee the necessary distance between passengers. However, since peak and off-peak hours may vary in each case, operators will have some flexibility to slightly adapt these percentages according to each local reality.
• The reduction to 70% of the rest of public transport services that had already been reduced by at least 50% in the DR of the state of alarm is increased, also guaranteeing the necessary separation between travelers.
• Renfe again reduces its Ave y Larga Distancia offer, placing it at 30% of the usual services. So taking into account that only a third of the places are occupied, the final offer of places that will be put on sale will be 10% compared to what was usual only a few weeks ago.
• Along the same lines, the Administrator of Railway Infrastructures (ADIF) will suspend the collection of the rent during the state of alarm of the commercial premises of the stations it manages, which have had to close as a result of this crisis caused by the coronavirus.
Air Transport
• The drastic reduction in air traffic -877 operations scheduled today compared to 4,849 a year ago (82% reduction) – prompts AENA in the coming days to launch a reorganization of airport facilities to adapt them to needs specific operations and achieve more efficient management, and will report tomorrow on its Board of Directors:
o Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. As a first measure, all the operations of terminals T2 and T3 are grouped into T1. At a later time, the operational closure of terminals T123 and T4S will proceed, finally leaving the entire operation of the Airport centralized in T4.
o Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport. The activity will be concentrated in Zones A and D of terminal T1.
o Palma de Mallorca Airport. Modules B and D will remain operational.
o Rest of the network. The opening and closing times of the same, as well as the use of their facilities, will be adapted to the new operations of the airlines.
• The commercial activities of the airports that cannot be operational as a consequence of these reorganizations will be exempt from the payment of the Income that was applicable to them during the period of inactivity.
Facilitate the work of carriers
Ábalos recalled that, since last midnight, the Government has restricted the access of travelers through our external borders in ports and airports. A measure in line with the decision adopted at the European Council last week, which agreed to apply a temporary restriction on non-essential travel from third countries to the European Union and Schengen partner countries.
The minister has also ensured that to guarantee the supply of all citizens, other measures are being taken to make the work of transporters, and the rest of the people in charge of mobility, as easy as possible.
Thus, it has proceeded to regulate to eliminate administrative obstacles in this period, in relation to the opening of workshops, with the possibility of traveling two drivers in the cabin if transportation requires it and also to guarantee access to basic cleaning and maintenance.
In this sense, the minister explained that work continues on this measure for its full implementation. With a daily monitoring of the service areas concessioned by the General Directorate of Roads and involving the Civil Guard and the Autonomous Police to compel compliance.
Ábalos has announced that throughout today the authorization to open establishments dedicated to the rental of vehicles without a driver, which was only allowed for professional use of freight, will be extended to all the cases allowed in the declaration the state alarm.