Buses in Barcelona

Buses are a common form of public transport in Barcelona, with an extensive local and interurban bus network. There is also a network of night buses called Nitbus (es) and a transitway system called RetBus is currently being developed, which is intended to complement the current local bus network. All bus routes serving Barcelona metropolitan area are organized by Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM). Local services are operated in most part by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), although other bus services are operated by several private companies under common names.

History

Operation

Local buses

The local bus network is very extended and reaches all neighbourhoods in Barcelona including some municipalities attached to the city and the airport. Local buses are operated in most part by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) although there are some lines which are operated by private sector companies under contract to TMB. There are over 100 urban lines serving the city and most of them pass through two or more districts, covering relatively long distances within Barcelona. Because of this, some lines called Bus del Barri (meaning The Neighbourhood's Bus in Catalan) were created. These lines are operated by small buses and cover short-haul routes enabling access to various parts of the neighbourhood as the shopping area, health care services, education centers and other facilities.

New Bus Network

In 2011, TMB announced plans for an improved bus network, initially dubbed "RetBus".^[1] This was introduced in 6 phases between 2012 and 2018 which established 28 high performance lines: 17 vertical (sea-mountain), 8 horizontal (Llobregat-Besòs) and 3 diagonal.^[2]

Interurban buses

The interurban bus service links Barcelona with the other towns in the metropolitan area. See the timetables of the various buses by searching the AMB (Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona) website.

Nitbus

During the night, the company NitBus provides a night-time bus service in Barcelona and the first metropolitan ring with 21 lines. 19 of them go through Plaça de Catalunya, where you can change to other lines. ^[3] The frequency is 15/20 minutes between 22:20 and 06:00.^[4]