The extraordinary plenary session of Bicimad in the Madrid City Council has been, indeed, extraordinary.
Extraordinary because it was held on a rare day, a holy Tuesday, in the middle of Holy Week, with many councilors connected from their homes, looking askance at the clock to leave these days on vacation.
Extraordinary because the team that surrounds José Luis Martínez-Almeida has also summoned him at one in the afternoon, at an unusual hour, even more so when other extraordinary plenary sessions have been held at nine in the morning.
Politics is linked to communication.
At that time, with a plenary session of almost 120 minutes, the chronicles —in this case critical of Bicimad, since the PP has been left alone to defend its new system— are avoided from the radio, television and, above all, regional news ,
since the plenary session started at one and finished almost at three in the afternoon.
Extraordinary because two spokespersons —Mar Espinar, from the PSOE;
and Begoña Villacís, from Ciudadanos– have not been present.
And extraordinary because Ciudadanos, the government partner of the PP, has issued an unprecedented reprimand to the mayor of Mobility, Borja Carabante, the person responsible for the chaos experienced by the public bicycle transport system, known as Bicimad, since the launch of the new system on March 7th.
“It is deficient, manifestly could be improved, there are no bicycles.
We have to solve it”, said the spokesperson for Ciudadanos, Santiago Saura.
The government partner of the PP, has issued an unprecedented reprimand to the mayor of Mobility, Borja Carabante, the person responsible for the chaos experienced by the public bicycle transport system, known as Bicimad, since the launch of the new system on the past 7 of March.
“It is deficient, manifestly could be improved, there are no bicycles.
We have to solve it”, said the spokesperson for Ciudadanos, Santiago Saura.
The government partner of the PP, has issued an unprecedented reprimand to the mayor of Mobility, Borja Carabante, the person responsible for the chaos experienced by the public bicycle transport system, known as Bicimad, since the launch of the new system on the past 7 of March.
“It is deficient, manifestly could be improved, there are no bicycles.
We have to solve it”, said the spokesperson for Ciudadanos, Santiago Saura.
More information
The chaos of Bicimad in figures: Madrid collects a missing bicycle every 10 minutes, 3,000 from the new system
To understand the chaos that Bicimad is experiencing, it is enough to observe the data offered by the City Council itself last Thursday.
Bicimad operators pick up a lost bicycle on the streets of Madrid every ten minutes.
That is, 3,000 since the new system came into force.
Since that day, the municipal and public transport service used daily by about 14,000 people from Madrid has plummeted.
There are hardly any bicycles in the stations.
One two.
Zero.
They are all missing, especially in the center.
In the first week alone, 500 disappeared, according to a document that this newspaper had access to.
To demand political responsibilities, Más Madrid requested an extraordinary plenary session last Wednesday.
Any party can request it, but at least 14 councilors are needed.
More Madrid has 16. It is the majority group, one more than the PP and five more than Ciudadanos (11).
The municipal bureaucracy indicates that the mayor or mayoress of Madrid has a maximum of 15 days for the extraordinary plenary session to be held.
The decision that it was held in the middle of Holy Week and at one in the afternoon is the power of the Government.
Rita Maestre has returned to the Palacio de Cibeles from her six-week maternity leave.
Maestre, as a spokesman for Más Madrid, has fiercely criticized the bicycle service: "It is a shame that Almeida is not giving explanations!"
Almeida has been in his place, but the popular strategy has been to protect the mayor by keeping silent.
The PP spokesman and target of criticism has been his trusted mayor, Carabante, the head of Mobility in the capital.
"The means of transport is unusable," Maestre continued.
“It does not propose any solution.
It is a disaster.
You and only you are fully responsible for the Bicimad disaster."
@Lineamadrid @AlmeidaPP_ the bikes in the Plata y Castañar park without an engine…?
Here you have one of the ones you are missing.
pic.twitter.com/OedT4CU35P
— Criss Moreno 🫴🏼🫧🌻 (@Criss_JustMe) March 22, 2023
Ignacio Benito, from the PSOE, has also criticized the fact that it was held in the middle of Holy Week. “The people of Madrid will not find out.
If the scheduled times are met, the chronicles of midday are avoided.
The mayor is crying out to get out of here."
Benito has given as an example the management of a similar case in a private company.
“In two years we have lost 18,000 users in Bicimad.
With what has happened this month, if I were in a private company, I would be fired."
The spokesman for Recupera Madrid, Luis Cueto, has been blunt: "Chaos is in all districts."
Vox, yes, has criticized that it was held on a Holy Tuesday.
And he has also attacked the PP for the restrictions on the traffic of the most polluting vehicles.
The most surprising thing in plenary, however, have been the words of Ciudadanos, the PP's government partner.
Santiago Saura, the spokesman, a calm man, has come to the stealthy podium.
Upon arrival, he has been forceful and has had very few words: “Bicimad's operation is frankly deficient, very deficient, and it can clearly be improved.
Confusion with the new and old system.
Missing abandoned bicycles.
We have to fix it as soon as possible."
Ciudadanos has resumed free of charge, questioning the lack of bicycles in the stations due to this measure.
“The key to the success of a public system is quality and frequency, not so much being free”, he said.
Carabante, the mayor pointed out by all, has defended the new system.
“The mayor was always in the solution.
We do not deny the problems, not like the Government of Pedro Sánchez with the Cercanías.
We have a minister who is dedicated to denying the problem, that is a problem.
If Madrid were Barcelona, the problem would already be fixed.
And yes, I have to do self-criticism.
We do not communicate the system well.
We have incorporated 50 informants since March 7.
Since this day, there have been 36,100 new users”.
At the end of the intervention, the president of the Plenary, Borja Fanjul, began the vote with the measures that he had proposed More Madrid: more staff in Bicimad and the suspension of the installation of the new stations until the old ones are changed.
But PP, Ciudadanos and Vox have voted against,
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