Axarquía villages demand improved bus service

Public transport

The mayors of Almáchar and El Borge have asked the Andalusian regional government to look into introducing a regular service between Vélez-Málaga, Benamocarra, Almáchar and El Borge, using the MA-3112 road as the main route

Eugenio Cabezas

The town halls of Almáchar and El Borge in the Axarquía area of Malaga province have asked the Andalusian regional government to look into introducing a regular bus service between Vélez-Málaga, Benamocarra, Almáchar and El Borge, using the MA-3112 road as the main route.

The proposal has been put forward to the regional government by the mayors of both villages, Antonio Yuste and Raúl Vallejo, who have each sent a letter to the regional government to highlight the need to move towards a transport network that is "more useful, balanced and inclusive" for the inland villages. The request aims to improve residents’ day-to-day transport and facilitate their access to essential services, which are mainly based in Vélez-Málaga and other parts of the Axarquía.

The proposed connection would link the villages to the Axarquía regional hospital in Torre del Mar, schools and colleges, public administration offices, shops, workplaces and with buses to Malaga city. According to the two mayors the measure would have a direct impact on the daily lives of hundreds of residents in the inland villages of the Axarquía.

In a statement, Yuste and Vallejo have described Vélez-Málaga’s recent inclusion in Malaga city's metropolitan transport consortium as “a significant step forward" for the Axarquía. However, both mayors believe that this move should not be limited solely to the main town in the Axarquía, but should serve as a starting point for extending coverage to the surrounding rural villages.

This call for action once again highlights one of the long-standing shortcomings affecting much of the Axarquía’s inland areas: the near-compulsory reliance on private cars to get to hospital, carry out administrative procedures, travel for work, or access other public services. In small towns and villages this lack of alternatives particularly affects young people, the elderly and residents without their own cars.

The proposal centres on the MA-3112 road, a transport link between Vélez-Málaga, Benamocarra, Almáchar and El Borge. The mayors argue that utilising this route would enable the establishment of a regular service that would strengthen regional cohesion and bring metropolitan services closer to towns that lie outside the main transport corridors.

The two mayors have also requested a meeting with officials from the regional government to present the proposal in greater detail and jointly analyse its technical and economic feasibility. “We are convinced that a regular service between Vélez-Málaga, Benamocarra, Almáchar and El Borge would help to establish a more competitive and sustainable public transport system, tailored to the real needs of the inland municipalities of the Axarquía,” concluded Yuste and Vallejo.