Interurban public transport services connect two urban areas or distinct municipalities (ACCO, 2011[50]). In 2022, there were 853 lines of interurban services in Catalonia, comprised of 1,600 buses covering 18,170 linear km of roads (GenCat, 2022[51]). Catalonia’s interurban transport system aims to provide public transport services to areas and regions not serviced by rail or with low coverage of buses outside municipality areas. In 2021, the network served 60 million trips (GenCat, 2022[51]).
Interurban bus services were concessioned between the 1960s and 1980s, with concession periods spanning between 15 to 40 years, and contract extensions of up to 25 years (ACCO, 2011[50]). Concession contracts for interurban buses in Catalonia are based on net-cost agreements (see Box A I.1) (ITF, 2021[52]).
In 2028, all non-Metropolitan interurban bus concessions will expire (147 contracts). From these, the majority (142 contracts) were awarded in 1988 or before, while the rest (5 contracts) expired in 2008 and were awarded 20-year extensions (ACCO, 2011[50]).
While bus services have improved over the last decades,1 several challenges remain in terms of service quality, reliability, and integration, reducing the attractiveness of interurban bus services vis-à-vis private vehicles. The main challenges identified in plans and via stakeholder’s interviews include:
Long award periods (and extensions) have reduced: i) flexibility to adapt the service to changes in transport demand, ii) incentives to provide a good level of service, as service providers do not need to compete for contract renewals for long periods of time; and iii) opportunities to incorporate good practices and lessons learnt. For concessions starting after 2009, the Spanish legislation stipulates a maximum of 10 years for new concession contracts (ACCO, 2011[50]).
Differentiated contractual agreements – sometimes at the level of individual bus lines – reduced the services’ homogeneity in terms of frequency, availability, connectivity, and quality. Also, the management of services by different levels of government reduces the chances for integration between interurban buses (managed by the Generalitat), urban buses and micromobility services (both managed at the municipality level).
Financial and human resources constraining quality performance and the enforcement of penalties when the contract levels of service are not met by the operator.
A lack of information on the adequacy of bus lines to changing transport needs leading to bus lines not adapted to current needs. For example, real-time data on transport supply and demand is not widely available to the public. Neither is an integrated map of interurban public transport routes and the connection of such routes with other means of transport in the region.2 The Passenger Transport Plan of 2020 describes interurban bus services supply and demand, however, the information available is fragmented and, in many cases, unavailable (DTES, 2020, p. 34[53]).