Fond of ‘historic bus spotting’? Then head to Madrid on Sunday

The Spanish capital’s public transport operator is celebrating its 75th birthday in retro style

This Sunday, 11 December, the guests and residents of Madrid will be able to enjoy a parade of historic buses and re-live how the city’s public transport vehicles have evolved throughout the decades. Speaking of decades, it also happens to be the 75^th anniversary since the founding of the municipal public transit operator EMT, and the bus show will be part of the celebrations.

Popular event for public transit buffs

In fact, this will be the second edition of the parade, formally known as the Historic Bus Exhibition (Exhibición de Autobuses Históricos de EMT), as the debut took place last year, also in December, and it proved to be quite popular.

The parade will include 12 vehicles and is set to depart from the Paseo del Prado. The rest of the year, the buses are kept at the EMT Museum, but the event gives them the chance to “stretch” their tires a bit and recall their days of glory.

The dozen historic vehicles will circulate at between 10 and 15 km/h from Paseo del Prado through the following itinerary: Plaza de Cibeles, Paseo de Recoletos, Plaza de Colón, Génova street, Sagasta street, Carranza street, Alberto Aguilera street, Serrano Jover street, Princesa street, Plaza de España, Gran Vía, Calle Alcalá, Plaza de Cibeles, Plaza de la Independencia (Puerta de Alcalá), Calle Alfonso XII, Calle Antonio Maura, Plaza de la Lealtad and return to Paseo del Prado. The parade will make two brief stops in the Plaza de Colón and Plaza de España.

Lovers of retro vehicles and designs will be able to feast their eyes and point their cameras at gems, such as the legendary Leyland Titan from 1957 and the Pegaso 6035 from 1971, among other models that have marked the history of public transport in the Spanish capital.