A score of neighborhood entities and the six unions of the works council of the municipal buses of Barcelona Measures are urgently needed to alleviate “stress” and the “tourist pressure” to which they warn that the drivers and regular passengers of the regular lines that connect with Park Güell and the Carmel bunkers are subjected. The Associations and the representatives of the staff have signed a manifesto in which they urge Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) that allocates personnel to the most crowded lines to “avoid confrontations between Barcelona residents and workers” of the buses with the mass tourism that does not respect the most basic rules of civility within public transport,” he accuses.
The document mentions lines V19, 22, 24, 114, 116 and 119 as those that suffer a massification who claim that they suffer “practically every day.” For its part, TMB states that the city buses “do not have an informant figure as such, but more security guards have been assigned. security“. Remember that “real-time video surveillance cameras” have been installed throughout the fleet.
Associations and unions emphasize the “impossibility” for some of the neighbors to get on the bus that “they find collapsed due to mass tourism and they must stay on land”, the “blocking of access”, the “systematic lack of respect for reserved seats” and the “refusal to pay the ticket” by “this tourism”, which they maintain is “increasingly common”. In front of those inconvenienceadvocates that the “information personnel” that calls for ensuring that “the old people or with special needs”, such as travelers with reduced mobility or those who carry babies, “have their access guaranteed” to public transport.
They also ask that they notify the Urban Police “in case of conflict escalation”. “It is not a task that we neighbors have to do, much less who should be aware of the driving and You deserve to be able to work without tension”, allege the signatories. They ask that staff remember in vehicles and the stops that “the ticket must be validated, move towards the back, take into account the reserved seats and spaces or not leave the trash in spaces intended for brochures”.
The promoters of the petition emphasize that they are not requesting security guards, but rather civic agents to carry out a “pedagogical and mediating task“, that they know languages and have “certain training.” “They cannot force, but we understand that the majority of tourists will respond right away or, in the worst case, if the agent threatens to call the Urban Police . Until now, it was what we neighbors did and it is violent, it usually ends badly and generates a lot of discomfort“, expresses the Consell Veïnal del Turó de la Rovira, one of the signatories.
On the other hand, they propose that they hang signs on the buses of the affected lines and all their stops, with indications “in various languages” that, among other basic rules, clarify that it is not allowed to accumulate at the entrance of the vehicle or obstruct the passage, climb through the rear doors or that the necessary “deference” towards the elderly and other people “with special needs.” In that sense, TMB responds that it is working on reinforcing signaling that it hopes to implement “very soon.”
Against more tourist buses
The councilor of Horta-Guinardó, Lluís Rabellreported at the Baix Guinardó neighborhood council in October that, given the “complaints” of the neighbors, the City Council considered “extend the route” of the tourist bus to “reduce the pressure on conventional lines.” Almost at the same time, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area put out to tender in November the awarding of a new City Tour service, parallel to the TMB tourist fleet, for a value of 284 million euros and with a new extension to travel through the Park Güell, among others frequented spots.
However, the signatories of the manifesto declare opposites both to one option and the other. They propose “ruling out the creation of a new tourist bus stop” and “in any of its two modalities.” They believe that “it will not reduce the saturation” of the lines. “No one will pay 30 euros for what costs 2.40,” they argue. Furthermore, they believe that “it will contribute to worsening the traffic on a narrow road that already has a very high volume of buses.” TMB indicates that it is studying “alternatives to solve access to Carmel.”
The document warns that the overload It is beginning to be seen on more lines, such as 86 and 114, which is why they appeal to TMB and the City Council so that “tourist pressure is not transferred.” Likewise, it urges to “increase the frequency” of passage of lines V19, 114, 116 and 119. He maintains that now it is “clearly insufficient” and should also be increased on holidays.
Faced with criticism, TMB replies that line 116 “was assigned a vehicle model with more ability a year ago and, since last November, it is being reinforced with one more vehicle on the days and hours of greatest demand“. He adds that he is working on “a global improvement of the service” in the rest of the lines.
Difficult terrain
Collectives and workers also ask that the route of V19 and neighborhood line 114 be reviewed, “taking into account the needs of the neighborhood and not the tourist attractions of the area”. TMB answers that modifying the route is “complex”, given “the orography of the terrain and the streets through which it travels”, with a considerable unevenness. “It also makes it difficult to incorporate vehicles with greater capacity,” he adds.
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In parallel, the manifesto requests “to prevent taxi drivers, VTC and private vehicles that are not residents block the circulation and the route of public transport in the La Salut neighborhood, where demonstrations have been called against tourist overcrowding. TMB maintains that it has no powers over this type of vehicle. At the same time, it refutes that drivers from regular lines have been transferred to the tourist bus, as the signatories claim.
The Federation of Veinal Associations of Barcelona (FAVB), the Association for the Promotion of Public Transport (PTP) seal the claims, among others. They are also subscribed to by the unions UGT, CGT, CCOO, SIT, ACAT and ACTUB.