Major Safety Overhaul for Tenerife’s Public Transport
The Canarian Base Unions recently held a pivotal meeting with key political figures on Tenerife, resulting in significant commitments to improve passenger safety on the island’s long-distance bus routes. The meeting, which included José Miguel Ruano León, Second Vice-President and spokesperson for the Canarian Coalition (CC) in the Tenerife Cabildo, and María Eulalia García Silva, the island’s Minister for Mobility and President of the public bus company Titsa and the tram service, marks a critical step towards aligning the islands with stricter European safety norms.
Banning Standing Passengers on High-Speed Routes
During the talks, union representatives detailed their “No More Standing at 100 km/h” campaign. This initiative aims to prevent standing passengers on public buses traveling along the island’s motorways and major highways. The proposal was met with receptiveness, leading to a major announcement from García Silva: Titsa will reverse its most recent decision and reinstate the prohibition (Notice 171/2025) of standing passengers on long-distance journeys along the southern and northern motorways from Santa Cruz. This affects key routes including lines 10, 100, 103, 112, and 343, with plans to extend this safety measure to other similar routes.
New Occupancy Limits and Regulation Changes
Beyond the standing passenger ban, the head of Titsa has also decided to implement new vehicle occupancy limits. These will apply when passenger density obstructs the driver’s view of the right-side mirror or the right-hand side of the vehicle. Furthermore, the company will modify the Passenger Regulations to formally incorporate safety criteria and explicitly limit standing passengers on long-distance journeys, embedding these protections into official policy.
Closing a Dangerous Legal Loophole
For his part, José Miguel Ruano expressed his willingness to promote a Non-Legal Proposition (PNL) put forward by the union. This proposition, which is also supported by the PSOE and NC parties, seeks to eliminate a current regulatory gap in Spanish law. Unlike most European Union countries, Spain does not explicitly prohibit standing passengers on motorways and highways, particularly at speeds over 100 km/h, although the Base Unions would prefer the limit to be set at 80 km/h. This legislative change would, at a regional level, “bring the Canary Islands up to European standards,” and invites other political groups to join the effort.
The Physics of Safety on the Road
The union representatives provided a detailed explanation of the risks associated with standing passengers on long-distance routes, describing it as “a practice that is prohibited by regulation in Europe and which multiplies the potential for injury in the event of sudden braking or a collision.” The syndicate presented “simple examples of physics applied to mass and speed to illustrate the real harm such a situation could cause to an unsecured body traveling at 100 km/h,” making a compelling case for the urgent need for reform.
Broader Support and Future Steps
While the union acknowledges the challenges of getting this change adopted in the Spanish Congress, where Article 48 of the General Traffic Regulations (RGC) must be modified, they hope to build pressure from the Islands and secure the maximum institutional support at a regional level. Having already secured the backing of PSOE, NC, and now CC, the Canarian Base Unions announced they will request a meeting with the Partido Popular. This would complete a cross-party consensus on “a measure that could position Tenerife as a European benchmark for passenger safety in interurban public transport.”
