A €10 million-a-year bus revolution is rolling into the Vega Baja, with 28 new intercity routes promised before summer — but the fanfare has quickly been overshadowed by angry protests and accusations of institutional disrespect.
Unveiled in Orihuela by regional president Juanfran Pérez Llorca, the new network promoted by the Generalitat Valenciana will serve 33 towns and 400,000 residents, offering more frequent services, expanded weekend and holiday timetables, and stronger links to hospitals, universities and Alicante-Elche Airport.
The overhaul is split into three major corridors. One is already running, another is due before Easter, and the final phase will arrive before summer, with officials forecasting more than 1.7 million passengers a year. Regional minister Vicente Martínez Mus hailed the plan as repayment of a “historic debt” in public transport, while Orihuela mayor Pepe Vegara branded it a landmark moment for the comarca.
“Cut Off and Ignored”: Anger Boils Over in Los Montesinos
But celebrations have turned sour in Los Montesinos, where fury has erupted over what the council calls a total lack of consultation.
While regional leaders celebrate a new era for public transport, Los Montesinos says it has been left out in the cold — and residents are now preparing to take their anger onto the streets.
The town council has called a public protest and symbolic blockade of the CV-945, the municipality’s main road, accusing the Generalitat Valenciana of pushing through a major transport overhaul without consultation, communication, or courtesy. The protest will take place on Friday 20 at 5.30pm, with residents urged to attend as a show of unity.
Mayor José Manuel Butrón said outrage peaked when he discovered he had not even been invited to the official presentation of the new bus routes in Orihuela, despite the fact that one of the transport corridors directly affects Los Montesinos.
“Public transport is not a luxury — it is an essential service,” Butrón said. “We cannot understand how a plan of this scale can be presented without even picking up the phone to speak to us. This is institutional disrespect, plain and simple.”
The mayor insists the snub is not an isolated mistake but part of a long-running pattern of silence. According to the council, Los Montesinos has been raising concerns and requesting solutions for years, only to be met with vague promises and missed deadlines.
“In February last year, we were told a provisional bus service would be operating within three months,” Butrón said. “A year later, nothing has changed. Our residents are still without real mobility options. Announcements are made, headlines are written — but on the ground, people remain cut off.”
The protest, while peaceful, is intended to send a clear message that patience has run out. The symbolic road closure is designed to highlight what the council calls an urgent and unresolved mobility crisis, particularly affecting elderly residents, workers without private transport, and those needing access to hospitals and services.
Discontent is also spreading beyond Los Montesinos. In Rafal, mayor Manuel Pineda has criticised the lack of dialogue, warning that councils were denied the chance to propose improvements and that the current plan risks leaving smaller towns “effectively isolated.” He went further, branding the situation an “institutional betrayal.”
Regional officials maintain that the new bus network is only a trial phase and say municipalities will be invited to submit feedback at a later stage. For Los Montesinos, that reassurance rings hollow.
“We will not stand by while plans are announced that never materialise,” Butrón warned. “We want answers, interim solutions, and respect. Our residents have the same right to mobility as everyone else.”
