What applies to guaguas in Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca?
On Wednesday 11 November 2026, Lanzarote has 288 guaranteed intercity trips, spread over the day from 00:00 to 24:00. The Cabildo de Lanzarote y La Graciosa set minimum services at 50% of the planned trips.
Whether buses to Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca are among them remains open. The Cabildo has not yet published a list of the 288 trips.
The Cabildo advises checking the times for 11 November before you walk to the stop. That matters most on routes that normally run often, where the frequency may change.
According to the Cabildo, the bus company holding the concession must give out timetable information. The reports do not name that company, so travellers should ask the Cabildo or the operator.
Will reinforcement buses, transfers and special services run?
The Cabildo allows reinforcement buses when a trip reaches its maximum capacity. Whether they actually run depends on how many drivers are available and on the day's operations.
According to the Cabildo, these extra buses do not count towards the 288 trips. They are an addition, not a promised service.
The Cabildo exempts special services from the rules because it does not class them as essential. How airport, hotel or excursion transfers are treated on the strike day is not confirmed.
The Cabildo names journeys to work, to schools and to medical appointments as the purpose of the minimum services. The announcement does not mention tourists.
Who is striking and why?
The unions CCOO and UGT have called a general strike across Spain for 11 November 2026, and other groups such as CGT and CNT have joined. It lasts 24 hours, from 00:00 to 24:00.
Under the slogan of wages, housing and prices, the unions registered the strike with the Labour Ministry on 19 October 2026. According to reports, it is the first general strike backed by both major unions since 2012.
The Canarian unions point to 211,000 empty homes in the archipelago and the lowest wages in Spain. They call it a labour strike but do not rule out a political side.
Before the strike, Vanesa Frahija (CCOO) and Manuel Navarro (UGT) hoped for no abusive minimum services. Whether they accept the 50% for Lanzarote is not known.
How did earlier bus strikes on Lanzarote go?
Stoppages began on 18 September. They ran from 06:00 to 10:00 and from 17:00 to 21:00.
About 1,300 employees on three islands were affected. The unions demanded a new collective agreement and equal conditions on all islands.
There was no deal by 22 September 2025, and the unions threatened a full stoppage from 6 to 8 October. The documents do not say how the dispute ended.
In December 2021, the Lanzarote Bus group went on strike over split shifts and a pay rise of 26 euros, which it called ridiculous. At first, only occasional-hire services for tourists and general passengers were affected.
How many people use the buses, and who pays?
The intercity buses carried about 8.2 million passengers in 2025, according to the Lanzarote Data Center. That is 8.1%, or roughly 620,000, more than in 2024.
July 2025 was the busiest month with 741,896 passengers, followed by December with 731,639. A Cabildo report dated 19 March 2026 gives 8.28 million passengers for 2025, against just over 5.1 million in 2022.
Since 2022, the number of drivers has risen by 86% and the fleet by 20%, according to that report. To keep the buses free for residents, the Cabildo paid more than 17.5 million euros from its own funds for 2022 to 2025.
In 2025, total costs were above 9.5 million euros, of which the Cabildo carried more than 7.4 million. The documents do not say what visitors who do not live on the island pay for a trip.
What is still unclear?
It is still open which routes run on 11 November and at what times. It is equally unclear which company will operate the minimum service.
No decision on minimum services turned up for the city buses in Arrecife. How hard the strike hits the island on Wednesday will only show during the day, and no further strike dates on Lanzarote are known.