Detalle noticia

Last Friday, July 12, the presentation of the shuttle bus service to Rodiles beach from the capital of the Villaviciosa council took place in the Villaviciosa Town Hall square, with the presence of the mayor, Alejandro Vega Riego, the deputy mayor and councilor for the environment, Lorena Villar, the representatives of the Association of Merchants (ACOSEVI), Lucía Llera and Elena Fernández, and the representative of the concessionaire company, ALSA, Luis Fernández.

This will be the third year in which this service is launched, doubling the frequencies of the regular line, by virtue of the agreement between the Villaviciosa City Council and the Transport Consortium of the Principality of Asturias (CTA). The collaboration of the Association of Merchants of Villaviciosa (ACOSEVI) is repeated, initiated last year to attract users of Rodiles Beach to Villaviciosa. The vehicle will be accessible for people with disabilities, who will have free service.

The objectives set by the municipal government for this initiative are two: promote the use of public transport to the beach and tourism promotion.

The company ALSA, concessionaire of the regular Oviedo-Villaviciosa line, with extension to Rodiles in summer, has begun to provide ordinary services since July 1, which will be expanded with the bus-shuttle from July 12 to September 15.

The service will be provided from La Villa to Rodiles beach, with the shuttle bus from the capital of the municipality to said beach. This service aims to promote the use of public transport, to the detriment of private vehicles, and thus take care of the environment and save parking time on one of the busiest beaches in Asturias. It will have a price of €1.55 each way, and you can also use the CTA single ticket card vouchers (€0.90). It will be free for children under 8 years of age and for people with disabilities. A dozen departures and returns to Villaviciosa have been scheduled, every day of the week, from 10:35 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Another essential objective of the initiative is the promotion of tourism and commerce in Villaviciosa. For this purpose, the vehicle will be decorated with images of Villaviciosa and its tourist website, and with the promotion campaign for local commerce, of the Association of Autonomous Merchants and Services of Villaviciosa (ACOSEVI).

ACOSEVI joins for the second year, the promotion of the bus-beach. According to its philosophy of contributing to making Villaviciosa a better place, it will reward the commitment to the environment of all those who use this service to travel to Rodiles, raffling gift vouchers. These vouchers will be €100 per week. The mechanics are very simple: at the end of the journey, users must deposit the ticket with their personal data (name, surname, telephone and email) in the urn that they will find at the bus station. The draws will be held on Wednesdays in July and August.

The mayor of Villaviciosa, Alejandro Vega, highlighted "the good results of this initiative that we launched in 2016 to improve and facilitate access to the beach through public transport, with what it means from the point of view of exemplary nature in respect for the environment and sustainability, and as a service to residents and visitors." In this sense, he also highlighted "the approach we have given in addition to tourism promotion for Villaviciosa and the commerce and hotel sector." Finally, he highlighted "the commitment to the integration of people with disabilities that joins the services provided on the beach, maintaining the adapted vehicle and free access for people with disabilities."