Barcelona City Council announced plans on Wednesday to invest €12 million in new intercity bus stops and improvements to existing ones, aiming to disperse users and reduce congestion in the city. The project involves around 20 actions to be carried out between 2027 and 2028.
Intercity mobility is critical for Barcelona, with thousands of people entering and leaving the city daily for work. According to city council data, approximately 7,000 buses enter and exit the Catalan capital each day. This number has increased further due to ongoing issues with the Rodalies commuter rail network.
Long queues of passengers waiting for buses, often spilling onto pavements and blocking pedestrians, have become a common sight, especially during peak hours. Areas such as Avinguda Diagonal and Fabra i Puig, and around Plaça Espanya and Gran Via, see daily flows of up to 20,000 people.
New Stops to Disperse Passengers
To address these crowds and their impact, the city council will establish new intercity bus stops near the four main entry and exit corridors. Along the Gran Via Sud access, new stops will be created. For the Diagonal corridor, stops will be placed near Plaça Pius XII and the Illa shopping centre. To relieve pressure on the Meridiana entrance, new stops are planned between La Sagrera and El Clot. Finally, in the Gran Via Nord area, stops will be added between Plaça de les Glòries and Plaça de Tetuan.
These new stops will be located close to existing public transport options, including the metro, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) buses, and the tram, to ensure smooth connections. First Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet explained that this strategy aims to create new intercity stops and organise existing ones, despite the city council not having direct authority over intercity transport.
Enhancing Existing Infrastructure
The city council will also improve current bus stops. This includes installing shelters at stops that currently lack them, reviewing pedestrian routes and crossings to shelters, and paving tree surrounds to prevent trips. New street furniture, such as benches, chairs, and bins, will be added, along with systems to provide shade and shelter from rain.
Vertical and horizontal signage will be implemented to clearly mark stops, and public toilets will be installed where feasible. "We need to be able to make decisions to improve the service immediately and urgently," Bonet said, adding that intercity bus use "will continue to grow."
Bonet defended the measures, highlighting the "little infrastructure, attention, and investment" in intercity buses compared to the rail network. She explained that these short and medium-term interventions are designed to improve intercity bus services while the city council continues to work with the Generalitat, which holds the authority, to promote large bus stations and interchanges at the city's main entry corridors, such as Diagonal, Meridiana, and Gran Via. This long-term goal aims to reduce the number of intercity buses in the city centre.
