The pioneering shuttle service launched by the Orihuela town hall Coastal Councillor in July at Playa Barranco Rubio has been hailed a great success by the town hall.
According to reports from the company in charge of providing the service, an average of 80 trips have been made per day, allowing approximately 15,000 people to enjoy easy access to the beach.
Of course, much like most town halls over inflate “people” by counting them every time they attend somewhere as a unique individual, that figure of 15,000 people is on the assumption every passenger only travels to the beach on one single occasion, never to return, or the actual figure of the number of people to have used the service would be considerably smaller, say if one person uses it every day for a week, for example, that is one person, not 7.
None the less, the Councillor for the Coast, Manuel Mestre, has highlighted the success of this initiative and has underlined the importance of offering alternatives that facilitate access to the beaches, especially during the high season: “The shuttle service at Barranco Rubio Beach in Orihuela Costa has allowed many people with mobility difficulties to overcome the stretch between the beach and the upper area of Campoamor. Given the success of the service, we will consider maintaining this service for next year in the high season.”
If you have only just heard about the service and we have tempted you to try it, the bad news is the shuttle ended on August 13, just before the peak of the season, although it has been in operation for a month, four hours a day, using a seven-seater minivan to transport users.
Given the figures quoted though, we must join in with the applauds of the success, as if the service operated for 30 days, 80 trips per day, carrying 7 people, 30x80x7=16,800, and so in light of the figures provided, it looks like every single one of those 80 trips per day, or 20 per hour, one every 3 minutes, saw the vehicle full.
Disclaimer: It is not clear if they class a “trip” as one direction or both, and so the figures would have to be adjusted accordingly, as we would not want to mislead anyone with fake claims.