Berga, Catalonia's Department of Territory is significantly increasing direct bus services between Berga and Barcelona, adding 15 new return journeys. The move responds to a growing demand, with the corridor currently serving 450,000 passengers annually. Improvements will be rolled out in phases, starting on 14 May.

The initial phase, beginning this Thursday, introduces four new weekday outbound services, three of which are direct: at 6am, 7am, and 6pm. A semi-direct service will depart at 7pm. Three new return services are also being added, two direct at 3:15pm and 4:15pm, and one semi-direct. Additionally, the Sallent stop will be included on the 6:45am service from La Seu d'Urgell and the 1:30pm return service. A new conventional service, stopping at all towns, will run between Berga and Barcelona at 10:50am.

Further Service Expansions

The second phase, starting on 1 June, will see six new weekday return services and one new return service on Sundays and public holidays. This includes a new direct departure from Berga at 7:44am and a direct return at 10am. Four new return services between Berga and Manresa will also be introduced to help students and workers travel. The third and final phase, from 22 June, will bring the remaining planned improvements, including five new outbound services and six new return services, some on weekends.

Sílvia Paneque, the Minister for Territory, stated that these changes represent "a step forward." She emphasised that territorial balance requires both "housing and good communications," and highlighted the importance of "generating opportunities from the territory." Paneque added that the goal is for people in the region to be able to travel "with the same rights as any other citizen."

Local Leaders Welcome Improvements

Moisès Masanas, president of the Berguedà Regional Council, said that defending public transport means defending "territorial cohesion and the future of the region." Masanas noted that mobility is a right in a region heavily reliant on private vehicles, where owning a car is almost "an obligation." He explained, "We only have public bus transport, there are no other systems, and the most affected are young people and those with reduced mobility." Masanas also lamented that a lack of transport leads to "fewer opportunities, more dependence, and more exclusion."

The construction of a bus station in Berga is a long-standing demand from the regional capital. Paneque's visit also aimed to move this issue forward. "We have a draft agreement that the City Council and the mayor are reviewing legally, which also includes a commitment to financial aid and a new approach," Paneque explained. The goal is to sign the agreement before summer and start the tender process as soon as possible.

Wider Transport Plan

In the Solsona-Cardona-Manresa corridor, as part of a service restructuring, a new return service will operate on school days at midday between Cardona and Manresa from 1 June, departing Manresa at 3pm, to help students. A new return service will also run on Sundays during term time between Solsona and Manresa, departing Solsona at 7pm and returning from Manresa at 10:30pm. This corridor serves nearly 100,000 passengers annually.

These improvements are part of the second Shock Plan for the improvement of the interurban bus network in 2026. The plan includes actions across Catalonia to strengthen high-demand corridors and move towards a more efficient, sustainable mobility model that meets the real needs of citizens. The total cost of this reinforcement is approximately €900,000 annually, which will allow for an increase of over 10,000 services across the network. The interurban bus service is operated by the concessionaire Alsina Graells, with funding from both the ordinary budget and resources allocated to the second Shock Plan.