Fleet and facilities

The Empresa Municipal de Transports de Palma (EMT-Palma) has a fleet of 179 buses with the following specifications:

All the buses, both the CITARO and the CITELIS, are single-deckers and have spaces reserved for persons with reduced mobility, with the necessary measures for their safety, as well as an access ramp for wheelchairs.

They have climate control systems with air-conditioning and heating, safety systems on the doors, visual and verbal indicators of approaching stops inside the vehicles, security cameras, a Transportation Management System, validating machines for contactless cards, etc.

All vehicles comply with regulations on contaminant emissions.

The environment

Our buses fully exceed demanding EU regulations on emissions of contaminating substances and noise.

Furthermore, it should be remembered that per passenger the bus contaminates and consumes between a third and a fifth of what a private vehicle does. The use of the bus instead of a car as a means of transport therefore signifies a major reduction in pollution and energy consumption at a global level.

On the other hand, the introduction of new, alternative fuels, such as natural gas, is easier to implement and financially sustain on public transport.

Buses with natural gas

In 2010, the first EMT buses with natural gas started to drive through the streets of Palma. For the first time, natural gas was used as a fuel, which was a pioneering experiment, not only in Palma, but also on the Balearic Islands.

Natural gas is a fuel that contaminates less and permits buses to be more environmentally sustainable, therefore bringing about the possibility of creating a cleaner city.

Natural gas offers a major reduction in contaminating emissions when compared to diesel.

• Carbon monoxide emissions are lowered by 25%,

• particulates by 81%, nitrogen oxide by 92%,

• and non-methane hydrocarbons by 63%.

That is to say, the emissions of the most dangerous contaminants (particulates and nitrogen oxide) are reduced by almost 90%. What’s more, buses propelled by natural gas exceed current obligatory European regulations relating to the environment and comply with the emission levels Europe will demand in 2014: in other words, they are almost five years ahead of future regulations.

Moreover, natural gas buses are quieter and cause less nuisance to pedestrians. They use a type of engine designed specifically to operate with natural gas which makes less noise, and also emits fewer vibrations in comparison with buses that run on diesel. Meanwhile, the performance of these engines is similar to that of engines that run on diesel.

Customer service offices

EMT has central offices located in Carrer Josep Anselm Clavé, no. 5 in Palma, where the customer service centre and various administrative departments are located. There is around 650 m2 of office space.