Five months after Ibiza’s new public bus network was launched amid several initial difficulties, residents in the north of the island are voicing their frustration over the reduction in services planned for the winter timetable.

In a letter sent to this newspaper, mycologist and pharmacist Jaume Espinosa says local residents are collecting signatures to urge the Consell de Ibiza to adjust bus schedules to better reflect the working hours of people who commute to Ibiza Town.

“The previous operators, Lucas Costa in Sant Miquel and Sagalés in Sant Joan, kept the 9.30pm bus from Cetis available for the journey home,” Espinosa recalls. He describes himself as “a lover of public transport” and argues that the current timetable leaves many residents without a practical way to get home after work.

At present, the A8, A9 and A10 routes, which connect Ibiza Town with Sant Miquel, have their final departure from Cetis at 8.15pm. During the summer season, however, services run later, with the last departures reaching 9.55pm on weekdays and 11.30pm at weekends and on the eve of public holidays.

Residents say the last bus is too early

The reduction in winter services is particularly problematic for people who work afternoon shifts in Ibiza Town and rely on public transport to return home.

While reducing the frequency of buses during the quieter winter months is common because of lower passenger demand, residents argue that the final connection of the day should remain at a time compatible with normal working hours.

Their proposal is not to maintain the same frequency as during the summer, but rather to ensure that at least the last bus leaves late enough for people finishing work in the evening.

Portinatx faces an even earlier final departure

The situation is even more restrictive on the T6 route between Ibiza Town and Portinatx.

From October, the winter timetable schedules the final bus from Cetis at 7.20pm. Residents say this effectively prevents people working afternoon shifts from returning home by bus.

The timetable also creates difficulties for children and teenagers attending after-school activities in Ibiza Town, as well as older residents who may not have access to a car and find it difficult to travel home once it gets dark.

By comparison, during the summer the final T6 service to Portinatx leaves Ibiza Town at 9.30pm.

The issue is particularly significant for people who do not have their own vehicle and depend on public transport for work, education or personal appointments in the island’s capital.

As residents point out, having a reliable bus connection into Ibiza Town does not fully solve the mobility problem if the return service ends before much of the city’s afternoon and evening activity has finished.

More than 700 signatures collected

Espinosa is calling for equal access to public transport across Ibiza’s municipalities, arguing that bus timetables should take into account the working hours of people who live in rural areas but travel to the city for afternoon shifts.

A petition has already gathered more than 700 signatures, which will be used to ask the Consell de Ibiza to extend the winter timetable.

The residents’ demand is therefore relatively specific: they are not asking for summer-level frequencies throughout the winter, but for the final daily connections to be extended so that workers, students and other passengers are not left stranded.

Sant Joan backs the request

The Sant Joan Town Council has responded to the campaign by announcing that it will ask the Consell de Ibiza to examine the possibility of extending winter bus operating hours, taking into account the actual needs of workers and students.

The local authority acknowledges that the launch of the new public transport network has brought a substantial improvement in connections across the municipality, but says that some shortcomings remain, particularly for residents.

The comments echo concerns previously raised by Alsa and the Consell de Ibiza, which have acknowledged that the new network, despite improving connectivity, still requires adjustments in some areas.

Cala d’Hort provides a recent precedent

This is not the first time that residents’ complaints have led to changes in Ibiza’s bus timetable.

In June, residents of Cala d’Hort sent a letter to the Consell de Ibiza calling for better connections between communities in that part of the island. The island government subsequently responded by significantly increasing bus frequencies in the area.

Residents in Sant Miquel, Portinatx and neighbouring communities are now asking for a similar response.

The Cala d’Hort changes came only a few weeks after the new public transport network was introduced, when passengers began identifying shortcomings in some of the routes and timetables.

Consell de Ibiza is monitoring passenger demand

The Consell de Ibiza says that winter timetable changes are currently being assessed and will be adapted according to passenger demand, as was already done with the summer schedule.

The island government is monitoring bus occupancy levels to determine where timetable modifications may be justified.

For now, the institution has not confirmed whether the final services to Sant Miquel and Portinatx will be extended. However, it has left the door open to further changes if passenger data and residents’ requests demonstrate a clear need to modify the current winter timetable.

For the residents behind the petition, the issue is ultimately one of mobility and equal access to public transport: a winter service may operate with fewer buses, they argue, but the last connection should still allow people who work, study or have activities in Ibiza Town to get home.