ARCHIVED - Iconic Benidorm tourist train shut down for operating without a licence for 20 years
ARCHIVED ARTICLE -
Operators of Benidorm Bus Turístico in the popular Costa Blanca holiday resort haven't paid any municipal licence fees for two decades
Benidorm's iconic 'tourist train', although technically a bus and a favourite with holidaymakers who flock to the seaside resort, has been derailed for operating without a licence for 20 years.
The company behind Benidorm Bus Turístico has reportedly been cashing in on the influx of seasonal visitors to the town for decades, but not paid a single penny to the municipal coffers whilst other firms offering similar tourist services have paid more than 180,000 euros in annual fees.
Decked out like an old streetcar, the bus has been transporting people around Benidorm since 1998 with "precarious authorisation", and without the relevant licences for the organisation of tourist routes and transportation of passengers.
However, it's now made its last stop after the Town Hall ordered the cessation of all activities and the council is now preparing a public tender to authorise the tourist excursions around the town.
Various political groups, in particular Cs Benidorm, have repeatedly denounced the irregularities in which the service has operated for the last two decades, but only now has the local council decided to revoke the "precarious authorisation granted to MEDTRAST 98 SL back in 1998.
During this time, or at least until 2017, the firm has reportedly paid around 6,000 per year for using public roads but no annual service fees.
Until now, the 'tourist train' stopped in Levante, the centre of Benidorm, and Poniente, with routes between 10 am and 10pm, charging 7 euros per ticket.
The council did attempt to shut down the tourist train in 2015 but was unsuccessful after the operators appealed.
A recent report drawn up to "justify the cessation of activities" details the "condition of the diesel vehicle used, which is more than 22 years old and compromises the welfare of the various users of the most central roads and residential areas, where pedestrians and cyclists coexist".
It also refers to efforts made elsewhere in the town to "reduce pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels" and the "creation of low emission zones, in order to restrict access to certain vehicles due to their polluting emissions".
In short, environmental policies that, in the opinion of council technicians, are not conducive with "keeping a highly polluting vehicle operating in the most central roads of Benidorm".
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