On Thursday, La Vanguardia reported on the pages of Viure about the recognition, by the main operators, of the inability of current public transport to absorb journeys carried out by private vehicle. On Saturday, this same newspaper echoed the growing discomfort of passengers on Renfe’s regional and Rodalies services caused by the daily malfunction of the service, a phenomenon that has already acquired an almost endemic character and has caused hundreds of train users to ‘have organized on social networks to project their demands or, at the very least, express their deep discontent. This widespread dissatisfaction is also strongly reflected in the social conversation generated on X (Twitter) in the main Spanish cities. This is highlighted by a new report from the Observatory of Social Conversation in Spain by LLYC and La Vanguardia, made by the consulting firm Llorente y Cuenca.
The study takes into account the comments made to X during one year, from February 28, 2023 to March 1 of this year (957,000 messages corresponding to 155,000 profiles) on five issues of interest (Suburbs, bicycles , scooters, car restrictions and conversion of urban spaces into pedestrian areas). Both in Spain as a whole and in the five large cities analyzed (Madrid, Barcelona, ??Seville, Valencia and Bilbao), the majority of detractors focus on the Commuter service due to the poor functioning of the trains and the need to increase investment. There are also the majority of opinions against electric scooters, especially because of the poorly resolved coexistence with pedestrians.
The bicycle is the mode of travel that generates the most comments on X. 45% of the conversation about the various modes of mobility in Spain refers to bicycles. In second place are Rodalies (18%), conversion measures into pedestrian zones 16%), scooters (11%) and limitations on car use (10%).
The specific analysis of Barcelona shows that there is widespread dissatisfaction with Rodalies. 74% of the messages to X are expressed in a negative tone towards this service, while only 7% express a positive perception. The result is even a little worse in the case of Madrid, where negative comments reach 75% (by 2% positive).
In the Catalan capital, the emergence of scooters in the streets is also very present in the social conversation in negative terms: the messages in this sense referring to this personal mobility vehicle in Barcelona represent 68%, while only 7% are in a positive tone The percentage differences between detractors and promoters of bicycles (61% and 22%, respectively); the limitations imposed on cars (46% against 21%) and the creation of pedestrian zones (55% against 30%) are smaller than in the social debate on trains and scooters.
In the comparison between Barcelona and Madrid there is an aspect that draws attention powerfully. The Catalan capital has a reputation for being, and most likely is, a friendlier city to bikes and pedestrians than the capital of Spain. Nevertheless, the analysis of the conversations in X shows that in Madrid there are fewer comments in a negative tone towards bikes and initiatives to convert public spaces for pedestrians than in Barcelona.
The difference in records between the two cities is particularly significant in the case of the transformation of streets into exclusive or priority spaces for pedestrians. Perhaps as a result of the policies applied in recent years by the municipal governments in each city? It would not be surprising that the restrictive measures of the private vehicle applied by the governments of Ada Colau and the launch of projects such as the super islands and the green axes – in short, communicating vessels of mobility – could largely explain this plus comments in a negative tone, because many Barcelona residents who express themselves on social networks consider it to have been an excess. On the other hand, in Madrid, metropolis where the local and regional governments of the Popular Party and the courts of justice tried to dismantle the bet to reduce the territory of the car of the previous mayoress, Manuela Carmena, – something they have achieved only partially – it circulates through this same channel, taking into account the results of this report, a not inconsiderable current of opinion in favor of bolder measures in favor of the pedestrian.
Also when establishing the inevitable comparisons between Madrid and Barcelona it is necessary to highlight the wide percentage difference between the promoters of the electric scooter in the first city (22%) and in the second (barely 7% of messages in tone positive in relation to this personal mobility vehicle). In fact, from the very little acceptance that this modern means of getting around in an urban environment seems to have in the social debate of the big cities – with the exception of Madrid – it can be inferred that the scooter has not yet achieved the halo of contributing to the sustainability of cities and healthier lifestyles.
With regard to the other three large cities analyzed in detail in this report on the mobility of the Observatory of Social Conversation in Spain by LLYC and La Vanguardia, Seville is the second that gives the most importance to X in the reconversion measures of spaces for pedestrians, which is, moreover, of the five topics considered, the least hostile and the most polarized of the entire analysis (44% detractors and 37% promoters). In general, projects such as those on Carrer Betis or Passeig Colom are highlighted, but there is plenty of criticism for the lack of attention to the needs of citizens.
Valencia stands out for being the city that expresses the most hostility towards all issues and is the most critical of the use and regulation of bicycles, the conversion into a pedestrian zone and the limitations imposed on cars, although, as is the norm , the greatest dissatisfaction is expressed with respect to the railways.
Finally, Bilbao is the city where restrictions on the private vehicle represent a higher percentage of the comments on mobility present in X. The Biscayan capital shows, on the other hand, a great balance in the debate on bicycles, with 34% of negative comments and 33% positive.
