Could Ibiza soon have a new, modern transport system?
An old idea to connect the two main gateways to Ibiza, the port and the airport, by an efficient and environmentally friendly method of transport has been resurrected by the new island authorities. They want to install a 'trambus' system running from Ibiza town to the airport via Playa d'en Bossa which can carry many more people than the present bus system.
So, what's a Trambus? Well, it's a combination of tram and bus, much like the old trolley buses which used to trundle around many European cities but souped up for the modern world. The size of a tram with two or three carriages , but with pneumatic tyres like a bus, the trambus is guided by a fibre optic cable laid just under the ground, so does not need a steering wheel and only needs two controls; stop and go! Its power derives from overhead cables so it does not emit exhaust fumes.
Its advantages over buses are that it carries more people and is greener, and over the tram are that the infrastucture is much less expensive to install and the tyres make the trolleybuses more manoeuvrable and able to climb steeper gradients.
The plan is to carry out a feasibility study as soon as possible to highlight the costs and advantages of the system to Ibiza. The intention is to create a special lane in the existing road network to be used solely by the trambus and taxis, moreover, the fibre optic cable used to guide the convoys will also control the traffic lights in favour of the trams as well as carrying passenger information to the stops along the way.
If the plan goes ahead it will certainly give kudos to Ibiza, being in the vanguard of modern transport systems as currently there are only a small number of cities in the world using the trambus system. Our photo, from Clermont-Ferrand in France (the home of Michelin tyres) shows just what the new trolleybuses could look like in Ibiza.