The Government of the Balearic Islands, through the Consorci de Transports de Mallorca (CTM), has begun to implement a new public address system on the TIB bus fleet, with the aim of improving mobility and service levels for people with visual impairments and making public transport more accessible and inclusive. The regional government announced this measure during an event with ONCE this Saturday, as part of European Mobility Week.
More than 50% of TIB buses already have this on-board public address system, with loudspeakers inside the buses to announce the next stop, and the new system is expected to be operational on all vehicles in the fleet during the course of this year to facilitate access to information for visually impaired people using the TIB network.
The new public address technology enables the automatic and live announcement of stops through loudspeakers installed inside the vehicle, helping to guide users who are blind or have low vision on their daily commute. Announcements are delivered clearly and in a timely manner, ensuring that all travellers, regardless of their visual ability, can travel with confidence and autonomy.
On Saturday, the Director General of Mobility of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Lorena del Valle, and the regional president of ONCE in the Balearic Islands, Alejandra Luque, visited one of the buses that already has this new system, in an event as part of European Mobility Week, together with the manager of the Transport Consortium of Mallorca, Lluïsa Serra, and also the head of social services of ONCE, Jorge Díaz.
As explained by the Director General of Mobility, this measure is part of a broader commitment by the regional government and the Consorci de Transports de Mallorca to promote accessibility and social inclusion, and is also part of the collaboration initiated with the ONCE Foundation in the field of accessibility.
In addition, the government continues to work to improve the public transport infrastructure in Mallorca with the aim of guaranteeing safety and a quality service to all users, according to Del Valle.
Since this summer, ventilation on the Palma Intermodal station platforms has been improved with the installation of industrial fans in the bus terminal, the contract for the installation of new escalators to access the station has already been formalised, and work is underway on other improvements such as changing the doors of the main entrance to the station, improving the tactile flooring, renovating the public toilet facilities and renovating the information and user service office.