Zaragoza.- .- The deputy delegate of the Government of Spain in Zaragoza, Noelia Herrero, has received the president of the Consumers Union of Aragón (UCARAGÓN), José Ángel Oliván, who has conveyed her concern for what she considers a "circulatory chaos" in the city of Zaragoza. “We estimate that every day 215,000 passengers are affected as a result of the accumulation of works and we understand that it is something that we must inform all administrations,” explained Oliván, who intends to meet also with the General Directorate of Transport of the Government of Aragón.
From UCARAGÓN they consider that the mobility of the capital presents a «serious deterioration» and «high levels of congestion» due to a series of simultaneous actions that are being carried out in the main axes of access to the center and in strategic nodes «without integral planning». According to Oliván, this situation is causing widespread delays, lost productivity and a direct impact on the quality of life of users.
“This is not only affecting the private car, but is also having a direct and severe impact on public transport.” According to her report, 14 urban lines are affected by deviations or structural congestion, which is resulting in saturation, increased travel times and loss of regularity. In addition, Oliván highlights that the affectations go beyond the capital since of those 215,000 travelers, about 49,000 are from metropolitan and interurban transport: “Here the biggest delays are due to difficulties in entering and leaving the city. The most affected line is the one in Zaragoza/Huesca, with an average delay of 30 minutes. In this case, no correct information is given on this issue either and these people do not know in advance how long it will take or when the bus will pass.”
UCARAGÓN has also conveyed to the Government’s subdelegate its proposal to adopt a collision plan to guarantee mobility and that includes giving greater priority to public transport (buses, taxis, VTC), the reinforcement of some lines, restrictions on private traffic in critical areas during peak hours and greater and better information to the citizen about detours, cuts and delays.
Noelia Herrero thanked the president of the entity for transferring all this information resulting from listening to users and consumers: “I am confident that your complaints will be heard and will result in more effective planning and communication. It is clear that the concentration of works in the same period of time will involve structuring in the mobility of the city, but the citizen must always be at the center of those changes, especially those that in their day to day depend on public transport.”