– the consortium formed by the Generalitat, Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and the Association of Municipalities for Mobility and Urban Transport, which manages public transport rates and schedules, has already reached a conclusion that will force changes: “the peak hour for means of transport in Barcelona has moved forward.” It has caused citizens to go to their jobs sooner and also return to their homes sooner. after the pandemic opened the possibility of totally or partially modifying presence in the workplace.
admitting the change in behavior in the mobility of citizens. In this case, they warned that Trambaix suffers unprecedented demand every Friday at 3:00 p.m. This demand has already forced an increase in frequencies at this time point. A spokeswoman for the transport consortium admits that, after covid, mobility patterns in public transport have been disrupted. “We observed a very significant increase in demand in the old off-peak hours, especially in the afternoon,” they say, admitting that mobility has become “diverse and complex.” Public offices have fewer users on Mondays and Fridays, which is when people prefer to telework.
warns that not only teleworking has changed the behavior of citizens. Previously, the T10 (the single-person ticket for making 10 trips) was the most used ticket both on the Metro and on the bus. Today the TCasual (as it was renamed, in 2020, the T10) is only used by 10% of users when it had been managed by 42%. Currently, titles that involve a flat rate have gained a lot of weight. It refers to subscriptions such as TUsual or TJove that allow unlimited use in a period of time (month or quarter). In 2019, these flat-rate titles were used by 24.6% of users and today 67.7% do so. Flores maintains that the holders of these titles make expansive use of public transportation, which – together with teleworking and, above all, labor flexibility – represents a modification of the concept of rush hour. “Before the pandemic, the peak hour was from 8:00 to 9:00. Since 2019, the number of users in that period has increased by 5.6%. But, from 7:00 to 8:00 it has grown by 13% and from 6:00 to 7:00 by 35%,” says the CEO of TMB. It is clear that teleworking and flexibility, along with discounted flat-rate titles, have changed user behavior. “Today there are many working days that we exceed 1,600,000 validations. In 2019 there were only two days that we exceeded 1,500,000. We know that Mondays are a slow day, we understand that due to teleworking. Our peak hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., then it drops to 1:00 p.m. and at 2:00 p.m. it drops again to 5:00 p.m. go up. On Friday mornings there is less mobility but in the afternoon and evening it is noticeable that people use the subway to travel to leisure places,” Flores concludes. The buses exceed 800,000 validations on weekdays. “The bus is the gateway to public transportation for children. Peak time is when they leave school between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.,” says Flores.
Oriol Juncadella, corroborates the changes in user behavior. “The pandemic caused many people to go live outside Barcelona looking for greener areas and, at the same time, many companies left the city. Our traditional rush hour is from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. From 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. the rush hour has hardly moved with respect to demand but from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. it has. In the afternoon, from Monday to Thursday there is a rush hour from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and another from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Of course, on Fridays the peak period from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. does not exist,” he concludes. Juncadella assures that also – related to teleworking – there are peak days that are “Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.” Ferrocarriles de la Generalitat (with 104 trains and two lines: Vallès and Llobregat-Anoia) will close this year with 100 million validations (Rodalies carries out 130 million). At peak times, the line between the Catalan capital and Vallès carries 30,000 passengers per hour and the Llobregat-Anoia line carries 11,000 users. “There are 20% more passengers compared to 2019,” he remarks. “People go to work earlier. The occupancy level of the trains has increased a little but we are not in a situation of collapse. The peaks are anticipated and grow moderately. When demand increases further it will not be necessary to buy more trains but rather increase the supply throughout the day with more operating expenses and more drivers. We are studying and we believe that this modification will be carried out within a year,” concludes the director of operations.
It’s much worse. Mired in a crisis due to underfinancing and the concentration of ADIF works, making a calculation on the behavior of users is complicated. And even more so taking into account that the incidents are constant and that everyone who could have looked for alternatives to this type of transport. Even so, a spokesperson assures that “Renfe monitors the behavior of demand to adapt it to the needs and new trends of travelers.” Modifications that are often adjusted to vacation periods and sporting events. On Renfe the rush hour is from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The time of arrival at work or home (whether morning or afternoon) is always unpredictable.
