Barcelona reports record number of sustainable trips

A record number of sustainable journeys were taken in Barcelona in 2023, with city officials revealing that the majority of trips (80.1 percent) were made on foot, bike, e-scooter or public transport.

Public transport journeys were up by 18 percent compared to 2022, reaching almost 2.9 million.

“For the first time, in 2023, sustainable mobility exceeded 80 percent,” said Barcelona’s Deputy Mayor for Mobility, Laia Bonet.

“We’re heading in the right direction and we have to continue to work in this way to strengthen sustainable mobility.”

The data was presented at last week’s Mobility Agreement meeting – a participatory forum on Barcelona’s mobility made up of associations, companies, public bodies and organisations.

A new mobility data website was also unveiled, including historical indicators and current information which will be regularly updated.

The city says the new tool contributes to transparency, providing information to the public via open data.

Results

Along with the increase in public transport trips in 2023, there was a two percent increase in journeys made on foot and a seven percent increase in trips made on bicycles and personal mobility vehicles (PMVs) such as e-scooters.

The meeting also revealed the share of public space devoted to mobility, with pedestrian space accounting for 50.5 percent; bicycle space 2.6 percent; public transport 3.8 percent (counting bus lanes and tram space); service lanes, reserved parking and loading/unloading zones 8.8 percent, and the rest of the road surfaces accounting for 34.3 percent.

Work to draft the new Urban Mobility Plan (PMU) 2025-2030 is also underway.

Prior analysis for the new PMU highlights the main challenges to be tackled and sets out three strategic areas: establishing a mobility model with safe, efficient and sustainable surface space; achieving a public transport system that attracts more passengers than private vehicles; and reducing dependency on cars and motorcycles and mitigating the negative aspects that come with them.

Traffic injuries

Data from the city has also revealed that serious traffic incidents in the city increased by 30.8 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, with 216 serious incidents and 225 serious injuries.

Twenty people lost their lives in traffic incidents (three fewer than 2022) – nine of whom were motorcycle and moped drivers.

Serious injuries from bicycle incidents have tripled (from nine in 2022 to 26 in 2023), and serious injuries from e-scooters have doubled (from five to 11).

The city council will soon make helmets obligatory for e-scooter users, with new legislation set to come into force in April.

The decision, which was announced last week, comes after similar measures were implemented in the northern Spanish cities of Girona and Lleida.

“[The city council] wants mobility in Barcelona to be orderly and safer – we need to make mobility safer for those who are more vulnerable in terms of mobility,” Bonet said at a press conference announcing the measure.

Image: kristina-skoreva-unsplash