The Councilor for Urban Planning, Infrastructure, Housing, and Mobility of the Alcalá de Henares City Council, Cristina Alcañiz, has urged the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) to postpone the activation of the Bus-VAO lane on the A-2 highway. The request is based on the need for sufficient guarantees that this measure will not intensify the mobility problems already affecting residents of Alcalá de Henares and the wider Corredor del Henares.
This petition arises after learning that the new system could begin operating this summer, following recent tests on the information panels and luminous signage. Alcañiz has warned that an initiative of this magnitude cannot be implemented with improvisation, without clear information to users, and without real coordination with the affected municipalities.
The councilor reiterated the City Council's commitment to public transport, sustainable mobility, and solutions that optimize travel times. However, she emphasized that this cannot be achieved at the cost of generating more traffic jams, uncertainty, and difficulties for those who use the A-2 daily for their work or study commutes to Madrid.
Alcañiz highlighted that the municipal government's primary concern is that the A-2 Bus-VAO does not involve adding a new lane but rather reserving the left lane at specific times. This, according to the councilor, could reduce the capacity of general traffic on a highway already saturated during peak hours.
“"Alcalá is not against the Bus-VAO or shared transport. What we ask for is common sense. It is not the same to create an additional lane, as happens in other access roads to Madrid, as it is to take capacity away from an already strained road. Before launching it, it must be demonstrated that the solution will not become a new problem."
The councilor has requested Minister Óscar Puente and the DGT to make public the planned operational data, traffic scenarios, implementation calendar, driver information measures, and protocols for collapse situations. She also asked for the study of an alternative plan including relief measures for congestion, such as the possible temporary opening of the R-2 when traffic conditions require it.
Alcañiz added that Alcalá residents have long endured issues with Cercanías commuter trains, access problems to Madrid, and delays in fundamental infrastructure. She stated that a measure that could affect thousands of daily commutes cannot be activated without guarantees, transparency, and without listening to the affected municipalities.
The councilor also recalled that the system's design raises user concerns due to limitations on entry and exit points, coexistence with interurban buses, dynamic signage, and the risk of many vehicles being concentrated on only two lanes during peak traffic periods.
Alcañiz concluded by calling for an urgent meeting between the Ministry of Transport, the DGT, and the Regional Transport Consortium with the affected city councils to analyze the real impact of the measure and agree on a "safe, progressive, and evaluable" implementation. "Guarantees first, then launch. Alcalá cannot be a passive bystander in a decision that directly affects thousands of residents," she affirmed.
