Every morning, before many businesses open their doors, 900 buses are already circulating through the streets of Barcelona. This is the number of vehicles that, according to TMB, simultaneously coincide in service during peak hours. And they do so following a well-ordered system: the H lines run horizontally across the city; the V lines, vertically, from mountain to sea; and the D lines, diagonally. And if the line name starts with an N, it will surely not be peak hour. In fact, it's likely the city is already asleep. Because Barcelona always has buses in circulation: when the daytime lines stop, the NitBus network, managed by AMB, takes over.
To maintain this incessant activity, TMB has a fleet of 1,146 buses that transport 223.2 million passengers every year. The network consists of 104 lines, covering 2,635 stops along 221.8 kilometers of bus lane, making the bus one of the pillars of Barcelona's daily mobility.
But the network does not end at Barcelona's limits. TMB lines also connect Barcelona with ten municipalities in the metropolitan area: l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Badalona, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Esplugues de Llobregat, Sant Just Desvern, Sant Joan Despí, Cornellà de Llobregat, Montcada i Reixac and el Prat de Llobregat.
To gauge the dimension of the network, the most natural comparison is with Madrid. According to the EMT, the Spanish capital has 2,150 buses distributed across 229 lines, transporting nearly 512 million passengers annually. In absolute numbers, it practically doubles Barcelona in fleet, lines, and demand. However, Madrid occupies about 605 square kilometers, almost six times more than Barcelona, and 3.5 million people live there, double that of Barcelona (1.7 million). The Catalan capital, therefore, has fewer vehicles, but also has to serve a much smaller territory.
Barcelona has about 67 buses per 100,000 inhabitants
Specifically, in terms of density, Barcelona has about 11 buses per square kilometer, while Madrid is around 3.5. And if we compare the fleet-to-population ratio, Barcelona has about 67 buses per 100,000 inhabitants, a figure slightly higher than Madrid's 61. In other words, Barcelona has a much more concentrated network, adapted to a compact urban model where a good part of the displacements are made over relatively short distances.
Traffic lights also give preference to buses
The priority Barcelona gives to buses is also seen in traffic lights. At many intersections, TMB vehicles have a traffic light priority system that detects their approach and adapts the traffic light cycle to reduce waiting time. Depending on the case, the system can extend the green phase by a few seconds or shorten the red so that the bus does not have to stop.
This mechanism, implemented especially on the main axes of the New Bus Network, contributes to making journeys faster and more regular. Traffic light priority is added to other measures, such as the expansion of bus lanes, the creation of double stops, or the redesign of routes, with the aim of making the bus an increasingly competitive alternative to private vehicles. And, in fact, the figures indicate that this strategy is yielding results: TMB's bus network reached a new demand record in 2025, with 223.2 million journeys, almost 8% more than two years earlier.
A snapshot of the fleet
Another characteristic of the Barcelona network is the progressive transformation of its fleet. TMB's 1,146 buses are entirely low-floor and have air conditioning, but the most important change is energy-related. Only 177 still run exclusively on diesel, while the majority already use more sustainable technologies: 417 are hybrids, 303 run on natural gas, 203 are fully electric, and 46 are powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.
This renovation has allowed for a progressive reduction in polluting emissions and has placed Barcelona among the European cities that have most committed to the electrification of surface public transport. Furthermore, the fleet has an average age of just over eight years, which guarantees relatively modern and accessible vehicles.
From bus to coach: the transformation of Barcelona Nord Station
Beyond TMB's urban network, Barcelona is also one of the main entry and exit points for coach transport in Catalonia. Every day, nearly 7,000 intercity buses enter and leave the city, connecting it with hundreds of municipalities in Catalonia, other Spanish cities, and numerous international destinations, such as France, Portugal, and Italy. Its great strength is its capillarity: they reach towns where the train does not arrive or does so less frequently, becoming a key piece of mobility.
And this growing prominence has, in fact, been reflected this very month of June with the culmination of the comprehensive renovation of Barcelona Nord Station, the city's main coach terminal. The project, with an investment of 14 million euros, responds to the sustained increase in demand and the desire to make the facility the main hub for national and international coaches in the city. And it is not a trivial bet: since 2019, the number of travelers has grown by almost 50%, and forecasts indicate that it will increase by another 30% before 2030.
However, despite the increase in demand and the large volume of coaches entering and leaving the city every day, Barcelona will hardly ever take away Arbúcies' title of being the Catalan coach capital. It is there that, for decades, some of the country's main bodywork manufacturers have developed. But this - and the figures for the automotive industry in Catalonia - is another story, which probably deserves another Barcelona in figures. Another Monday.