The express bus that connects Vilafranca del Penedès and Barcelona, ??line e6, will incorporate from next week – the exact date has not yet been announced – six nine expeditions in each direction. These frequencies will meet the increase in demand in the morning and midday peak hours with departures from the first town and in the afternoon and evening return from the Catalan capital. This reinforcement, which according to the Department of Territory consolidates what was implemented on September 19, is introduced after repeated complaints from travelers about the collapse of the service due to the lack of places.
Territory estimates that the number of users of this road route has skyrocketed after the pandemic. Demand has grown by 30%, mainly due to the problems that Rodalies is suffering from, increased by the various improvement works being carried out in Castellbisbal and Sant Feliu de Llobregat, which have reduced the service and aggravated the situation, especially in recent months . According to the association Promoció del Transport Públic (PTP), “the simultaneity of actions on the R4 causes travel times to increase unacceptably, going from one hour to more than two in many cases”.
The queues of users to get on the buses early in the morning at the station of the capital of Alt Penedès are loud. There are also problems returning from Barcelona at peak times. In fact, many people have to wait up to an hour to get on the few vehicles, which fill up quickly. The mayor of Vilafranca, Francisco Romero, specifies that nearly 4,000 residents of a city with a population of just over 40,000 travel to Barcelona daily by public transport.
“There are enough queues on the bus. We want dignified and quality transport”, demand the banners hanging at Vilafranca station. A few days ago, waiting for the 8 a.m. bus, in the long queue, Sandra, 32 years old and an employee of a company based in Passeig de Gràcia, stated with resentment that she had come to invest three hours to go with train to Barcelona His trips became “impossible”, and he ended up taking the bus. Marcel, who also works in Barcelona, ??indicated that many days there are passengers who have to travel straight on the buses. Regina was also a Renfe user, but the “anxiety”, “giving up your life” on the journeys and “not knowing what time you arrive” forced her to change to the bus. Camila and Emma, ??students of Design and Pharmacy, respectively, at the University of Barcelona, ??admitted that the situation at Vilafranca station required, at least, “to arrive 20 minutes earlier”.
“The train is a very high-capacity service and the buses have around 60 seats”, recalled the general director of Transport and Mobility, Oriol Martori, yesterday. “We do not avoid our responsibility – he added – but we cannot be responsible for this transfer from Rodalies”.
The service will continue to be monitored in the coming weeks and, if the demand persists, the feasibility of being able to continue improving it will be studied so that the offer is adapted at all times to the existing demand, assures Territori. In this sense, he has requested Renfe and the infrastructure administrator, Adif, to study freeing up a groove on the R4 for trains leaving Vilafranca in the morning rush hour. If this is not possible, the general manager asks the railway operator “for an alternative transport plan by road from Vilafranca to cope with the increase in demand, as foreseen by the cuts of the R3 ( Barcelona-Vic)”.
Territory and the Barcelona Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) have started an audit of the service to find out which aspects should be improved and ensure that the buses work in accordance with the established guidelines. The department plans to convene monthly follow-up meetings with the Vilafranca City Council, the operator company (Hispano Igualadina) and, where appropriate, the user representatives to propose and share improvement proposals.
