Barcelona's new nautical bus has completed its first three months of activity with more than 125,000 journeys made between the Drassanes and Llevant docks. Operated by Alsa, it was launched on July 4, a few weeks before the America's Cup began, which has now set sail from the Catalan capital. These 125,000 journeys between July and September confirm the good reception of the service in the city, which until now lacked a regular maritime public transport service.
In these first three months, it has emerged as a sustainable alternative to facilitate mobility between various areas of the Port Vell, including the new spaces generated in the Bocana Nord, which have been transformed in recent months with the America's Cup as a catalyst. In this way, the nautical bus has contributed to reducing road traffic between the Colom and Joan de Borbó promenades. Operated with two 100% electric zero-emission catamarans powered by solar energy, the service generates an annual saving of 180 tons of CO2.
Around 3,400 workers travel daily to the Bocana Nord area alone, to companies such as Marina Barcelona'92, the W Hotel, Desigual, the Norrsken foundation and Marina Vela, who can reduce their travel time with this new means of transport, which crosses from one side of the Port Vell to the other in 10 minutes.
"We are very satisfied with the great reception of the nautical bus," highlighted the president of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvador, who recalled that the Port Vell had already planned to launch it, but that the America's Cup accelerated its momentum. In this sense, the nautical bus has also facilitated the mobility of spectators of the competition, both to the village and to new port areas that have served as viewpoints for the regattas.