The tram system is operated by MetroTenerife, and comprises two lines.Line 1 links the centre of Santa Cruz with the nearby town of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (also known as La Laguna).
Line 2 is a short line running in Santa Cruz' suburbs, providing connections to line 1.
Tram tickets are sold at ticket machines at tram stops. At the time of writing, a single ticket for the tram costs €1.35. This does not permit transfers. There is also an all-day ticket, for use on trams only, costing €4.50.
A 5-journey ticket, costing €6, does allow transfer to and from buses in the Santa Cruz area. The BonoVia stored-value ticket, available in denominations of €15 and €25, can also be used with each tram journey being charged at €1.05. This fare also permits transfer to and from buses in the Santa Cruz area.
A monthly pass allowing unlimited travel by tram and bus within Santa Cruz and the surrounding towns of La Laguna, Tegueste and El Rosario is available for €45.
Transport Interurbanos de Tenerife, S.A. (TITSA) provides bus services across Tenerife. This includes services to, from and locally within Santa Cruz.
I noted standard single-deck buses operating many of the services in and around Santa Cruz.
Some were in the latest all-green livery...
...some were in green with limited cream swirls...
...but many still carried an older livery of green and white.
I also noted some buses with advertising for visitor attractions on their lower panels.
These were operating on services into Santa Cruz from the popular resort areas. This one is on a service returning to Puerto de la Cruz, on Tenerife's north coast, then on to Icod and Buenavista.
As in the southern resorts, I noted a few buses displaying non-existent route number 800.I understand the "800 en servicio" display is used for buses which are running late and are not stopping to pick up passengers.
In the southern resorts, most of the buses I saw were high-floor vehicles with steps at the entrance and exit doors.In contrast, although I did observe some step-entrance buses in Santa Cruz, I noticed a greater proportion of low-floor buses with step-free access.
Another difference compared to the southern resorts was that some of the buses had three sets of doors, rather than two.
Not all of the buses I saw were full-length single-deckers.I noted a number of these shorter vehicles on services operating locally within the city.
I also noted minibuses operating.
At the opposite end of the scale were articulated buses.From what I could see, these were being used on some journeys on route 910 to Playa de Las Teresitas, a popular beach close to Santa Cruz.
Fares on TITSA buses vary according to the distance travelled. Fares can be paid in cash on boarding, although using the BonoVia card (€15 or €25) offers a substantial saving. As noted above, for regular travellers within the Santa Cruz metropolitan area, a monthly pass allowing unlimited journeys by bus and tram is available.
The main hub for buses in Santa Cruz is a multi-level terminus, Intercambiador.
Some local services terminate outside...
...while others use stands on the first floor of the building.
Longer-distance services, including those from and to the southern resorts, arrive and leave from the second floor.
Tram line 1 terminates outside the Intercambiador building.
Hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tours of Santa Cruz were being provided by City Sightseeing. using open-top double-deck buses.
The tours were starting from Plaza de España.
At the time of writing the tours are suspended.
