Mobilising in Bilbao against increased public transport
Dozens of people called for by the Ecosocial Jump and the Charter of Social Rights of Euskal Herria have criticised the increase in the price of public transport and the elimination of discounts as "unacceptable". They also stressed that this would be an "additional burden" for the working class and that it would be a "big step backwards" in the fight against climate change.
This Wednesday afternoon a rally was held in front of Metro Bilbao in defence of a "sustainable, collective and comfortable" transport model. Along the same lines, they have announced the maintenance and improvement of discounts. They also call for more measures to promote public transport. For example, increase frequencies, place preferred lanes for buses and offer additional discounts for vulnerable groups.
The conveners of the concentration have described as "great success" the discounts that are now intended to be cut and that were launched in September 2022. As they have explained, during the time when inflation was on the rise, discounts became "respirators" for the working class and their use grew markedly. However, the Government of Spain has questioned whether discounts on the lottery will be maintained.
They have explained that the elimination of discounts would directly affect the working class. Although they have said that the Spanish Government should assume the responsibility of maintaining them, they have insisted that, if the discounts were withdrawn, the Basque institutions should assume the responsibility of financing them.
They have pointed out that the transport sector is the one with the most greenhouse gases, so it is "urgent" to undertake profound changes to reduce the use of cars and encourage public transport. The agents propose to allocate the money for environmental projects such as the subfluvial or the Racing Variant to maintain discounts on public transport.
