Transport in Gibraltar

Gibraltar has a limited public transport system, due to the small size of the territory and the impact of the constitutional dispute with Spain.

Road

Private transport

Gibraltar has 31 miles (49.9 km) 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. 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 four digits (1000-9999) and a single letter. These are the same shape, type face and colours as those in the UK. 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.

Public transport

There are five bus routes in Gibraltar (routes 2, 3, 4, 9, and 10) and buses run to most areas of the territory apart from the Upper Rock, which is a nature reserve. The Gibraltar Bus Company runs four routes, with its distinctive modern fleet of blue-liveried buses. These are:

* Route 2: From "Referendum House Terminus" to "Willis's Road Terminus".
* Route 3: From "Air Terminal Terminus" to "Europa Point Terminus".
* Route 4: From "Rosia Terminus" to "Both Worlds Terminus".
* Route 9: From "Air Terminal Terminus" to "Market Place Terminus".

The Calypso Bus Company runs the remaining route (route 10) with 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).

Buses run regularly from the frontier/airport terminus to the city centre, including the route 9 which is a shuttle between the central terminus outside Grand Casemates Square, by the market place and that of the frontier/airport.

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.

Rail

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. 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. [ [http://www.foghs.org.uk/nl/67.pdf Friends of Gibraltar Heritage Society] , December 2003, pp 7-8, ptovide full details.] 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 RENFE line from Algeciras to Bobadilla Junction via Ronda. Until 1969 a ferry from Gibraltar provided convenient access to Algeciras station.

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Being a peninsula, the sea has long been vital to Gibraltar's transport links. The Royal Naval 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.

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.

Air

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 civilan passenger flights are operated by easyJet, British Airways, Monarch Airlines and Iberia 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 is considering using smaller aircraft, possibly from its Air Nostrum regional partner—indicating that neither operator may have been able to fill their planes with passengers.

Following the takeover by easyJet, GB Airways dropped its direct Gibraltar–Heathrow service on date|2006-10-28 [Gibraltar News Online, [http://www.gibraltarnewsonline.com/2006/07/21/gb-airways-drop-gib-heathrow-route-this-winter/ GB Airways drop Gib-Heathrow route this Winter] ] 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 [Gibraltar News, [http://www.gibfocus.gi/details_todaysnews.php?id=3058 GB Airways sells Heathrow slots for £80 million] ] . 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.

Travel times

The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours and minutes) to common city destinations from Gibraltar. [ [http://travelpuppy.com/gibraltar/getting-around.htm Travel Times from Gibraltar] ]

* Rail travel times from San Roque-La Linea, add further 13km (20 minute) taxi-ride from Gibraltar.
* Sea travel to Southampton Docks by cruise-liner, add further 130km (2 hour) train journey to London.

Cable car

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.

Dispute with Spain

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. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3237235.stm MV Aurora - Fury over Gibraltar border closure] ] 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 smilar 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.

References