NATO SUMMIT SPAWNS FREE BUS RIDE
by GUIDEPOST
FREE RIDE on EMT buses throughout the city of Madrid during the NATO Summit, from 00:00 hours of Tuesday the 28th to 23:59 hours of Thursday the 30th of June. The measure is in line with the plan of the Ayuntamiento de Madrid (Madrid City Council) to discourage users from moving around in private vehicles that will not only snarl up traffic but will also make the enforcement of security measures for the Summit all the more complicated.
PLAN FOR SPECIAL MOBILITY
Spain is celebrating its 40th year with NATO. It is said that for this reason, it has been chosen to host the Summit. The Central Government has organized the event, deploying 6,550 National Police officers and 2,400 members of the Civil Guard, in addition to 1,200 municipal police officers who will collectively see to the safety of the more than 40 heads of state and government scheduled to attend, along with their own security detail and other members of their respective entourage, plus the accredited media.
Complementing the job of the police forces is the Ayuntamiento de Madrid’s effort to get the people to use public transport for the duration of the Summit.
IFEMA
The area around IFEMA (Institución Ferial de Madrid), critical venue of the Summit, will be the special focus of the security measures. The Feria de Madrid metro station will be closed. To compensate, the Ayuntamiento will put in place a straight-through shuttle service from the Mar de Cristal metro station to Puerta Norte de IFEMA in order to facilitate the mobility of those accredited to the NATO Summit. There will be additional buses to reinforce Bus Lines 104 (Ciudad Lineal-Mar de Cristal) and 112 (Mar de Cristal-Barrio del Aeropuerto).
Tourist bus along Paseo de la Castellana
The other areas most affected by the traffic restrictions which at certain times will involve closures are the Prado-Recoletos-Castellana axis, the Nudo Norte (Northern Junction), the Almendra Central (i.e., streets inside the M-30)., and the access roads to A-2 and M-1.
Some taxi stands and BiciMAD bike-hire stations will also be affected by the stringent traffic restrictions.
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HOW TO AVAIL OF THE FREE EMT BUS RIDE
Passengers may use their transport pass to the bus without the ride being charged against the pass. Or, if the passenger has no transport pass, the bus driver will issue a free ticket.
This is the sixth time the Ayuntamiento has dangled free bus rides on the Madrileños to get them off private vehicles.
More info on traffic restrictions in Madrid.
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Images
Featured image (collage by Guidepost: EMT bus/Diario de Madrid, CC BY4.0, cropped. NATO Summit logo/NATO, Fair use)
IFEMA/Alquiler de Coches, CC BY2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Originally uploaded to Flickr.
Paseo de la Castellana/Diriye Amey via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY2.0
