Barcelona Metro passengers have reached a new historic high, with provisional data showing over 45.7 million journeys were made in October alone.

This represents a 3.2% increase compared to the same month last year, according to figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE).

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The city’s urban bus network also saw record usage, carrying 22.26 million passengers.

Record Figures for Barcelona Metro Passengers

The growth, however, shows signs of moderation. The metro’s passenger increase is less than half last year’s 8.4% rise and remains far below the double-digit surges recorded between 2021 and 2023. A similar pattern is evident for buses, which grew by just 0.9% in Barcelona this October. This is a significant slowdown from last year’s 4.4% increase and the dramatic 17.8% and 13.5% jumps seen in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

These figures underscore the metro’s central role in the city’s mobility. Furthermore, the sustained high demand highlights the ongoing pressure on the city’s housing market, as a significant influx of new residents continues to shape urban life. In fact, recent analysis shows 60% of Barcelona’s 25-34 year olds arrived after 2015, a demographic heavily reliant on public transport.

Across Catalonia, bus passenger numbers grew by 3.1% to 32.85 million, also a record for the INE series which began in 2012. The total number of bus users in the region had only surpassed 31 million for the first time in October of the previous year. Consequently, while absolute numbers are at their peak, the rate of growth is now more subdued.

The data, sourced from the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) network and compiled by the INE, points to a public transport system operating at full capacity. This record usage comes amid broader discussions about urban density and living costs, where rental prices have doubled in Barcelona over the past two decades. Therefore, the sustained demand for metro and bus services is a key indicator of the city’s dynamic, yet pressured, urban environment.

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