Barcelona buses travel at 11.4 km/h and the PP demands an urgent plan

Barcelona buses travel at **11.4 km/h** on average, a speed almost identical to that of 20 years ago. The **Popular Party** is asking the City Council for a plan to reach **15 km/h**.

The average speed of Barcelona's buses is **11.4 km/h**, according to data from **Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona** provided to La Vanguardia. This figure is very similar to that of **20 years** ago, when it was **11.7 km/h**. A person running at **5.15 minutes per kilometre** would cover the same distance faster than the bus.

When compared to other cities, the Catalan capital lags behind **Valencia** (12.1 km/h), **Madrid** (12.8 km/h), **Sevilla** (12.8 km/h), **Bilbao** (15 km/h) and **Zaragoza** (15 km/h). In Europe, only **Rome** (10 km/h) is slower, while **London** (14 km/h), **Paris** (15 km/h) and **Lyon** (18 km/h) travel significantly faster. The European data is from **2024**.

The City Council began a pilot plan in **September** on Balmes Street to reduce the commercial speed of its buses. It has painted **red carpets** at crossings with **Diagonal** and **Gran Vía**, so that cars turning right cannot enter the bus lane before the crossing. The trial will last **six months**.

Meanwhile, the **Popular Party** is presenting today in the municipal Mobility commission a proposal for the government of **Jaume Collboni** to develop an "urgent plan" within a maximum period of **three months**. The aim is to progressively achieve a minimum average speed of **15 km/h**.

Among the measures, the PP proposes an audit of the entire network to first address the **25 most problematic points** in the city. It also calls for a "real traffic light priority" that extends the green light or brings forward the change when a bus is detected, and to review bike lanes that hinder the service, such as on **Via Augusta**. Additionally, it suggests reorganising loading and unloading zones, taxis, and parking that block the bus lane.