The public road passenger transport company of the Cabildo, GuaguaGomera, developed two days of reflection around the European Mobility Week, in which institutions, professionals, specialists and citizens addressed the challenges of public transport on the island
Curbelo highlights that the objective is to move towards an increasingly competitive, accessible service adapted to the needs of the population.
The Cabildo's road passenger transport company, GuaguaGomera, has commemorated the European Mobility Week with two days dedicated to analyzing the present and future of island public transport, with special attention to connectivity between municipalities, quality of service, sustainability and the incorporation of new technological tools.
The president of the Cabildo, Casimiro Curbelo, valued these sessions as “a useful space to contrast experiences and continue defining the mobility model that La Gomera needs,” and maintained that the objective of the insular Institution is to continue moving towards “more frequent, more accessible public transport, easier to use and capable of better connecting people with the opportunities and services that the island offers.”
Curbelo highlighted that "talking about mobility in La Gomera is talking about equal opportunities, because we must guarantee that the place where a person lives does not condition their access to medical services, work, studies, administrative management or sea and air connections."
Thus, he recalled that GuaguaGomera currently has eight lines and 121 stops in the six municipalities, a network that connects small towns and municipal capitals with essential services and strategic points such as the Insular Hospital, the Maritime Station and the La Gomera Airport.
"The challenge is no longer just to have public transport. We have to make it a real alternative to the private vehicle, and for that the frequencies, schedules, reliability and that the service is easy to use are essential," he stated.
The president pointed out that the evolution of demand confirms the importance that public transportation has on the island. “GuaguaGomera closed 2025 with 358,892 passengers, while during the first eight months of 2026 more than 240,000 travelers were already counted,” he added.
Added to this data, as he explained, is “a modernization process that has already translated into concrete improvements for users.” Among them he mentioned the incorporation of 12 new buses, which have allowed the available fleet to increase to 24 vehicles; card payment; and the new GuaguaGomera mobile application, which allows you to plan routes, check schedules and know in real time the arrival of the buses.
"Technology and digitalization make sense when they make people's lives easier. We want to make each trip easier and more accessible and make using the bus increasingly more comfortable," he noted.
Curbelo also announced that during the last quarter of 2026, a new service framework will be implemented that will allow regular transport frequencies to be increased by around 30%.
Among the planned improvements are new departures at 7:00 a.m. from San Sebastián to Valle Gran Rey and Vallehermoso; services on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays for La Dama y Alojera; reinforcements between Alajeró and San Sebastián and between Vallehermoso and Valle Gran Rey; and a new connection between the northern municipalities and the airport.
"We want people to be able to organize their day using public transportation as an effective option. Reducing dependence on the private car is an environmental issue, but also a social one, because we must guarantee alternatives to those who do not drive or do not have their own vehicle," he said.
Conferences for the European Mobility Week
The first of the days, held at the Vallehermoso Bus Station under the motto 'Mobility that connects the territory', focused on the reality of the municipalities and the evolution of travel in La Gomera.
The program included a live radio program hosted by Mónica Darias and José Antonio Romero and the dialogue table 'Moving in La Gomera: territory, transport and people', with the participation of the mayor of Vallehermoso, Emiliano Coello; the manager of GuaguaGomera, Inmaculada Padrón; Librada Medina, resident of Tamargada; the historian Daniel Ventura; and Edison Sierra, from the Silbo Gomero Cultural Association. The day also featured a musical performance by Regina Morales.
The second session, held at the San Sebastián Bus Station under the title 'New challenges for mobility in La Gomera', delved into public mobility policies, service quality, sustainability and the possibilities offered by new technologies to improve island transport systems.
They participated, along with the president of the Cabildo; the manager of GuaguaGomera, Inmaculada Padrón; the director of Commercial Quality of Municipal Buses of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gemma Tor; the island coordinator of the La Gomera Biosphere Reserve, Diego Chinea; the professor at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and professional in the sector Pablo Fernández; and Edison Sierra.
The programming was completed with the radio panel 'Sustainable mobility: territory, technology and public transport', in which different perspectives on service management, technological innovation and the need to adapt mobility solutions to an island marked by the dispersion of the population and a unique orography were shared.
