PSOE and Unidas Podemos have registered a joint motion to demand the Consell de Ibiza to rectify the internal instruction that prevents registered people without DNI or NIE to access free public transport passes, a measure that, according to denounce, affects residents who actually reside on the island. The initiative is addressed directly to the island president, Vicent Marí, and questions a decision in force since last December 2, when the PP government activated new controls for access to free bus tickets.
In a joint statement, both formations warn that the instruction leaves out of the free transport system to registered people who have not yet regularized their administrative status, despite living and working in Ibiza, and warn that this measure especially harms vulnerable families. The parties argue that the rule “punishes those who comply with the residency requirement” without providing evidence that these groups are behind the irregular uses detected.
“A cruel measure”, according to the PSOE.
The socialist spokeswoman, Elena López, has described the decision of the Consell de Ibiza as “cruel” and has demanded its immediate withdrawal, insisting that the fight against fraud cannot be done at the expense of restricting basic rights. “Whoever misuses the cards should be controlled and punished, but vulnerable groups should not be punished,” she said, referring to free public transport.
The PSOE reminds that being registered on the census proves effective residence in Ibiza, and stresses that the requirement of DNI or NIE is an added barrier for people who are in administrative processes not yet resolved.
Unidas Podemos criticizes the “drift” of the PP
For his part, the spokesman for Unidas Podemos, Òscar Rodríguez, has framed this decision of the PP in a political “drift” similar to that applied, he said, in areas such as health or social benefits. Rodriguez regretted that the Consell has chosen to eliminate the right to free transport to registered residents who still do not have nationality or residence permit, despite their roots on the island.
The leader of UP has defended that these people are “fundamental” for key sectors of the economy of Ibiza, and has reproached the island government for linking the instruction with an alleged fraud without providing data to support it.
Cross accusations
Both formations agree that the application of the instruction contributes to “stigmatize” the immigrant population, by indirectly associating it with irregularities and fraud in the use of public transport. PSOE and Unidas Podemos claim that no evidence has been presented to point to registered immigrants as responsible for the abuses detected, and consider that the Consell’s approach is discriminatory.
In this sense, the spokesmen have come to qualify the measure as a “far-right policy”, ensuring that it is not being applied in other territories where the PP governs in coalition with Vox, and have urged Vicent Marí to reconsider his position.
The opposition’s criticism comes six days after the PP publicly defended that no vulnerable person will lose the free bus fare in Ibiza, as explained by the first vice president of the Consell Insular, Mariano Juan, who argued that the internal instruction aims to combat fraud detected in the use of transport cards, especially by tourists or holders of second homes.
From the island government it was argued that free transport is intended exclusively for residents and that the cost of free transport will reach 9 million euros in 2025, a figure that, according to the PP, justifies the tightening of controls.
In the registered motion, PSOE and Unidas Podemos urge the Consell de Ibiza to rectify the instruction in force since December 2 and to implement control measures aimed only at improper uses, without harming those who actually reside on the island and are registered, although they still lack definitive documentation.
