More buses, less traffic: TIB launches summer routes – Cala d'Or and Cala Rajada included

More buses, less traffic: TIB launches summer routes – Cala d'Or and Cala Rajada included

On Friday, March 27, some island stops saw earlier-than-usual crowds: commuters with bags, retirees with headbands, tourists with maps in hand. The town smelled of espresso from the corner bar, scattered clouds hung over the harbor and the display on the Paseo Marítimo suddenly showed more green than usual. Eleven summer routes of the TIB interurban network have started again — and with noticeable changes.

What is changing specifically: routes to popular coastal towns and holiday centers have been reactivated, while larger vehicles and additional trips have been put into service. Those who look closely at the timetable will find, for example, the Port de Sóller–Palma connection now served by a new 15-meter bus with 53 seats, as noted in Small timetable changes, big relief: More bus services on lines 304 and 312. Frequencies on some sections have been tightened: in many time windows waiting times shrink from around 30 to about 25 minutes because certain lines now run several extra departures per direction.

On the eastern coast, the Cala Millor–Palma line increases capacity with new 18-meter vehicles, each with 75 seats; the Can Picafort–Alcúdia–Palma connection also receives several of these large buses. The authorities are responding to peaks in tourist traffic, but also to daily commuter demand during working hours.

In the southwest this means noticeable relief for Magaluf and Santa Ponsa: the Magaluf–Palma line gets two additional 18-meter buses, Santa Ponsa receives three extra weekday services and four additional departures on Sundays and public holidays. In Santa Ponsa a later last departure is being introduced — leaving at 1:00 a.m. — and a new stop is being integrated into the network. For night owls and shift workers this can make a real difference.

Airport connections are also being expanded. The Aerotib service is a permanent part of this year's summer program: routes such as Port d'Alcúdia–Airport and Manacor–Airport are being extended, and new connections to Can Picafort and Cala Bona now serve the terminal. Further context is available in TIB strike in Mallorca: hope for a resolution – relief for commuters and drivers. The south remains strongly connected with the Campos–Airport line and in the west a route now starts in Camp de Mar instead of Peguera — accompanied by additional capacity.

The news was presented by regional transport planners: alongside the responsible minister, the director general for mobility and the management of the transport authority were present at the announcement of the measures, as explained in When Breaks Shape Timetables: TIB Changes and What They Mean for Mallorca. The core message: more buses should provide a real alternative to the car — in the hope of easing traffic jams and reducing parking pressure in coastal towns.

In everyday life this means: on the way from Plaça de Cort toward the harbor you will hear the deep rumble of longer buses more often in the coming weeks, see fewer questionably parked cars at the access roads to small coves and meet more commuters early in the morning who chose the bus over driving. For holidaymakers clearer, regular connections are a plus: no long deliberations about taxi prices, no guessing when the last return will work out.

Of course expanding routes is only one step. Anyone wanting lasting change needs better passenger information, clear fare systems and coordinated transfer times — practical details that make switching to buses comfortable. One suggestion would be to install clearly visible overview boards in tourist centers and provide more digital real-time information at the larger hubs.

Conclusion: the resumption of the eleven summer routes with new large buses and additional services is a noticeable, visible expansion of the offer. It is the small framework for a bigger goal: more space on the roads, less stress when parking and an island that in summer works well not only by car. If you stand at a stop in the coming days you can see and hear it yourself — and if you like, just hop on.