Gibraltar has a limited public transport system, due to the small size of the territory and the impact of the constitutional dispute with Spain.
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Gibraltar has 49.9 kilometres (31.0 mi) of highways, all of which are paved. It has one of the highest levels of per capita car ownership in the world, with as many motor vehicles as people. Unlike the United Kingdom, traffic in Gibraltar drives on the right, as it shares a land border with Spain. Traffic formerly drove on the left; the change to driving on the right was made at 5.00 a.m. on 16 June 1929.
Roads in Gibraltar are fairly narrow, with a typical speed limit of 50 km/h (31 mph). Gibraltar has ten fuelling stations, and fuel prices are lower than in the neighbouring country of Spain. Some people from nearby Spain even enter Gibraltar for the sole purpose of filling their cars' fuel tanks.
Gibraltar's international vehicle registration is GBZ, and Gibraltar car number plates consist of the letter 'G' followed by up to five digits (1-99999) or four digits (1000-9999) and a single letter. These are as standard, the same shape, type face and colours as those in the UK, however non-standard number plates have been permitted. The Chief Minister's official car has the registration number G1, while the Governor's car, following tradition, has a crown, in place of a number.
There are five bus routes in Gibraltar (numbered one to five) and buses run to most areas of the territory apart from the Upper Rock, which is a nature reserve. The Gibraltar Bus Company runs routes 1 to 4 exclusively, with its distinctive modern fleet of blue-liveried Dennis Dart buses. These buses came into use on 28th May 2011, when the timetables and routes were also revised. Fares have increased on Route 5 busses from £0.60 to £1 for an adult single or £1.50 for a "Hoppa" All day pass, all other busses are free to residents and tourists.
| Single | "Hoppa" All Day Pass. | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | £1.00 | £1.50 |
| Pensioner | £0.80 | £1.20 |
| Child | £0.50 | £0.80 |
The Calypso Bus Company and Gibraltar Bus Company jointly run the remaining route (route 5), which is a shuttle service from Reclamation Road to the Frontier, using a more elderly fleet of red double-decker buses. Although at first sight similar in appearance to London's red buses, these left-hand-drive vehicles are actually secondhand from Germany (Berlin continues to operate similar double-deck buses).
Route 5 buses run regularly from the frontier/airport terminus to the city centre, this is a shuttle between Reclamation Road (British Steps) near John Macintosh Square and the frontier/airport terminus via the central bus station outside Grand Casemates Square, by the market place.
Additionally, taxis are available around the Rock. Many cater specifically to offer tours of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. These can be picked up from the frontier or the city centre, where there are a number of taxi ranks. Taxi drivers are however obliged to take normal fares as well as tours.
As of November 2011 there have been additional changes to the routes and pricing, see http://www.7daysgibraltar.com/article.php?id=5389 for further details.
There are no extant railways in Gibraltar. There was formerly an extensive railway within the Gibraltar Dockyard, and neighbouring works and storage facilities. It included tunnels, one of which went through the Rock of Gibraltar, and is still in use today as a road tunnel. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries there was also a temporary industrial railway in Gibraltar. At the period when both railways were operational, it was possible to travel right round the entire coastline of Gibraltar by train.[1] The dockyard railway had a roster of 17 locomotives, distinguished by numbers, but four of which also carried names: Gibraltar, Catalan, Rosia, and Calpe.
Today the nearest railway station (in Spain) is "San Roque - La Línea" station on the ADIF line from Algeciras to Bobadilla Junction via Ronda. Until 1969 a ferry from Gibraltar provided convenient access to Algeciras station.
Being a peninsula, the sea has long been vital to Gibraltar's transport links. The Royal Navy Dockyard was formerly Gibraltar's major employer. There is still a harbour on the west side of the territory. The Gibraltar-registered merchant marine consists of 26 ships of 1000 tonnes and above. There was a direct regular fast ferry service to Tangiers, Morocco until 2003, but passengers must now travel from Algeciras or Tarifa.
The ferry between Gibraltar and Algeciras, which existed until 1969, when communications with Spain were severed by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, was reopened on December 16, 2009, served by the Spanish company Transcoma,[2] which used a catamaran, Punta Europa Segundo in memory of the original ferry that served the cross-Bay route in the sixties. The maritime operations of Transcoma were taken over by Grupo Medex on 10 November 2010, which announced a higher-capacity new ship for 2011.[3]
Various cruise liners visit the Port of Gibraltar throughout the year. This provides the means of transport for a significant proportion of day-tripper tourists arriving in the territory.
Gibraltar Airport is the territory's only airport. It is situated very close to the border with Spain. The road to Spain crosses the runway, requiring the road to be closed each time an aircraft lands or takes off. Scheduled civilian passenger flights are operated by EasyJet, British Airways and Monarch Airlines.
Following an agreement signed in Córdoba between the Governments of the United Kingdom, Spain and Gibraltar in September 2006, the use of Gibraltar Airport by both Gibraltarian and Spanish services was agreed. Gibraltar Airport will be adapted to have an entrance from Spain (as well as Gibraltar), in a similar manner to Basel and Geneva airports (which are also adjacent to borders).
Iberia commenced direct flights between Madrid and Gibraltar on 16 December 2006 with GB Airways following on 1 May 2007. However, GB Airways discontinued their Madrid service on 30 September 2007 and Iberia subsequently considered using smaller aircraft, possibly from its Air Nostrum regional partner — indicating that neither operator may have been able to fill their planes with passengers. Iberia eventually withdrew its service in September 2008. In 2009 Ándalus Líneas Aéreas started flights between Gibraltar and Madrid. However, on 13 August 2010, the airline ceased operations because the Spanish aviation authorities withdrew their licence.
Following the takeover by EasyJet, GB Airways dropped its direct Gibraltar–Heathrow service on 28 October 2006[4] despite apparently remaining popular. The reason cited by GB Airways was the "convenience of" concentrating all its London services onto a single hub at Gatwick. Later, a sale of several of GB Airways' Heathrow slots is believed to have netted GB Airways with up to £80m.[5] In late 2007 GB Airways was bought by EasyJet (and thus ceased to be a British Airways franchise partner); all flights were rebranded as EasyJet in 2008.
Flights are available from Gibraltar to London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Luton, Liverpool and Manchester airports. As from 2012 bmibaby offer a service to East Midlands airport.
A cable car runs from just south of the city centre to the Ape's Den and the Top of the Rock, which despite its name is actually the second highest peak of the Rock.
The road crossing into Spain was closed by the Spanish authorities from 1969. It was reopened for pedestrians in 1982 and for vehicles in 1985.
A ferry operated between Algeciras and Gibraltar until 1969. For a few months in 2004 Spain banned cruise ships which had visited Gibraltar from going to Spanish ports on the same journey. In 2003, the land frontier was closed for a day by Spain on the grounds that a visiting cruise liner, the MV Aurora, was affected by contagious food poisoning.[6] No cases in Gibraltar were reported.
The airport is built on the isthmus which the Spanish Government claim not to have been ceded in the Treaty of Utrecht, thus the integration of Gibraltar Airport in the Single European Sky system has been blocked by Spain. The 1987 agreement for joint control of the airport with Spain was rejected by the then Government of Gibraltar. All successive Gibraltar governments have rejected it, although welcoming joint use of the airport (which being on the border could operate in a similar manner to Geneva Airport or Basel Airport). Following the "Cordoba Agreement" (between the UK, Spain and Gibraltar) in 2006, the joint use of the airport was finally agreed.
The road crossing from Gibraltar into Spain can often be subject to long delays. A loop road is located next to the border to hold cars waiting in the queue to cross into Spain. Motorists (and sometimes pedestrians) crossing the border are randomly subjected to long delays and searches by the Spanish authorities.
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