Barcelona tests out hourly tickets on tourist buses

The aim is to provide more convenience to guests of the city

The Metropolitan Transport Authority of Barcelona (TMB) reported that today it will launch a new pilot test concerning the introduction of hourly tickets on the city’s tourist buses (Barcelona Bus Turístic). These tickets will be valid for 24 or 48 hours after their initial validation. They will not replace the already existing classic tour tickets – the goal is to provide more flexibility to visitors.

A practice borrowed from other European cities

The pilot project is organized in collaboration with the Catalonian capital’s tourism board – Turisme de Barcelona – in an effort to showcase the city as adaptable and understanding to consumer demands and needs.

The advantage of this new hourly ticket is that it is activated whenever the traveller decides to validate it. In other words, it is an open ticket, whereas the classic one- and two-day tickets are activated when they are bought.

This pilot test involves flexibility in supply, following the example of other tour bus companies in European cities such as London, Rome and Berlin. Currently many visitors to the city who arrive in the afternoon decide to wait until the next day to board the Tourist Bus so they can take full advantage of the traditional tickets for one or two days. 

With the new hourly ticket offer, they will have the option to take the tour as soon as they arrive in the city if they so wish. This change of offer will also allow welcoming a greater number of tourists at emblematic stops such as Plaça Catalunya or Sagrada Família.

The hourly test ticket for the Barcelona Tourist Bus is available from today on the traditional sales channels: the Hola Barcelona website, in the offices and cabins of Turisme de Barcelona and through the staff on board and the informer guides the stops. Despite this new alternative, users will also have the option to purchase the classic-type tickets.