The City Council and the Generalitat have reorganised the 13 bus stops between Maria Cristina and Zona Universitària, doubling the boarding points to 23 to reduce congestion. Four stops had been abandoned without service for years.
The Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning of Barcelona, Laia Bonet, and the General Director of Mobility and Transport of the Generalitat, Susi López, presented the reorganisation of urban and inter-regional bus stops on Wednesday in the section of Diagonal between Maria Cristina square and Zona Universitària. The intervention, long requested by the PTP (Public Transport Promotion) association, has increased from 13 to 23 boarding points to prevent any stop from concentrating more than 20 lines.
Until now, some stops accumulated up to 40 different lines, with an average of 1,800 buses per day on weekdays. The congestion forced users to endure long waits and, at times, poorly maintained shelters or even no service at all. In fact, four of the old stops had not seen any buses for years, with the shelter or post abandoned.
The reorganisation has been achieved, in part, by doubling the space reserved for vehicle stops with paint on the asphalt. This measure is a first step in a broader plan that, according to Bonet, will include the renewal of existing shelters, particularly to improve sun protection in the increasingly high summer temperatures. The new shelters must be accessible, as the metropolitan metro network already is.
The PTP association has been one of the most critical voices regarding the state of the stops for years. Its spokesperson reminded that, despite the implementation of the orthogonal bus network, the bus remains the least cared-for mode of transport in the city. The reform of Diagonal between Francesc Macià and Passeig de Gràcia, which placed the stops wedged between car lanes, is an example of this. The arrival of the tram in that section is expected to correct this situation.
The General Director of Mobility, Susi López, highlighted that the intervention is the result of collaboration between administrations and announced that work will continue to improve the surface network. For her part, Bonet emphasised that the reorganisation will benefit thousands of daily users who use these stops to travel within the city and to the metropolitan area.
The measure comes after the PTP itself repeatedly denounced the state of the stops, with dirty shelters and outdated maps. At the press presentation, Bonet and López appeared alongside a shelter that still displayed a route map featuring the old terminal of El Prat airport, a piece almost like a museum.
Local residents, especially students and workers accessing Zona Universitària, have received the news with optimism. Many of them had been calling for a solution to the long waits and lack of information at the stops for years. The reorganisation will allow, according to municipal sources, a more balanced distribution of lines and a reduction in waiting times.
The City Council has announced that the second phase of the plan will begin in the coming months, which will include the installation of new shelters with more shade and greater accessibility. Additionally, the possibility of incorporating digital information panels that display real-time arrival times will be studied.
This action is part of the plan to improve the Barcelona bus network, which foresees investments worth several million euros in the coming years. The aim is to match the quality of bus service to that of the metro and tram, especially on the main axes of the city.
For now, users can already notice the changes at the stops of Maria Cristina, Zona Universitària, and intermediate points. The horizontal signage has been updated and the new boarding points have been operational since this week. The Generalitat has reminded that the intercity bus network also benefits from this reorganisation, with lines connecting Barcelona to Baix Llobregat and Barcelonès.
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