Record breaking 1 billion journeys made on public transport in Barcelona last year

More and more people are opting to use public transport in the Barcelona area. In 2017, a record-breaking 986.6 million journeys were made, 3.3% more than the last year, as reported by the Metropolitan Transport Authority of Barcelona (ATM in Catalan).

The Secretary of Infrastructure and Mobility, Ricard Font, attributed the increase to the economic recovery as well as a “certain containment of the price” which did not increase for three years until 2018. He also mentioned improvements to services, such as new bus routes and the increase of the number of buses running.

The most popular form of transport was the metro, with 390.4 million journeys made last year, followed by bus, with 202 million trips.

This overall increase of 31 million journeys is unprecedented, reaching an all time high of public transport usage. Plans are already underway to increase the number of services available in the coming years, especially in busy areas.

These figures demonstrate that there are more people who are “determined to leave the car at home when quality public transport is on offer,” said Font.