Bilbobus is the name for metropolitan bus services in Bilbao.
 | |
 A Bilbobus unit in Bilbao | |
| Founded | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Service type | bus service |
| Routes | 45 (37 daytime and 8 night lines) |
| Operator | BioBide[1] |
| Website | Bilbobus |
The service is owned by the city council of Bilbao. The buses can be distinguished by their red colour and large white lettering, and there are 28 major lines serving the city, with eight smaller lines connecting the town centre with neighborhoods with narrow streets where normal buses can't drive. Plus eight night lines, called Gautxori.
Bilbobus is part of a wider transport network operated by the Basque government, recent additions to which include the Metro Bilbao underground and the tram line. They link the Renfe, Euskotren Trena and FEVE train services and are heavily integrated by means of the Barik card to provide ease of movement in the city.
The company's branding takes the Basque language name for the city, Bilbo.
Lines
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The following is a list of the lines operated by Bilbobus:[2]
- 01 Arangoiti - Plaza Circular
- 03 Plaza Circular - Otxarkoaga
- 10 Elorrieta - Plaza Circular
- 11 Deustu - Atxuri
- 13 San Ignazio - Txurdinaga
- 18 San Ignazio - Zorrotza
- 22 Sarrikue - Atxuri
- 27 Arabella - Betolatza
- 28 Uribarri - Altamira
- 30 Txurdinaga - Miribilla
- 34 Otxarkoaga - Santutxu
- 38 Otxarkoaga - Intermodal
- 40 La Peña - Plaza Circular
- 43 Garaizar - Santutxu
- 48 Santutxu - Lezeaga
- 50 Buia - La Peña
- 55 Mina del Morro - Miribilla
- 56 La Peña - Jesusen Bihotza
- 57 Miribilla - Ospitalea (Basurto Hospital)
- 58 Monte Caramelo - Atxuri
- 62 Sagrado Corazón- Arabella
- 71 Miribilla - San Ignazio
- 72 Larraskitu - Castaños/Gazteleku
- 75 San Adrián - Atxuri
- 76 Artatzu/Xalbador - Moyúa
- 77 Peñascal - Mina Del Morro
- 85 Zazpilanda - Atxuri
- 88 Kastrexana - Indautxu
Local District Lines (Auzolinea)
- A1: Asunción - Plaza Circular
- A2: Solokoetxe - Plaza Circular
- A3: Olabeaga - Moyua
- A4: Zorrotzaurre - Deustu
- A5: Prim - Plaza Circular
- A6: Arangoiti - Deustu
- A7: Artxanda - Arenal
- A8: San Justo - Ametzola
- A9: Abando - Santa Marina Hospital
Night lines (Gautxori)
- G1: Arabella - Plaza Circular
- G2: Otxarkoaga - Plaza Circular
- G3: Larraskitu - Plaza Circular
- G4: La Peña - Plaza Circular
- G5: San Adrian/Miribilla - Plaza Circular
- G6: Altamira/Zorrotza - Plaza Biribila
- G7: Mina Del Morro - Plaza Biribila
- G8: Arangoiti - Plaza Biribila
Special Lines (Especial)
Football Matches: On days when matches end after 10:00 p.m., 5 lines are extended, creating special services:
- E28: Uribarri - Altamira
- E38: Otxarkoaga - Basurtu / Termibus
- E56: La Peña - Jesusen Bihotza
- E57 Basurto Hospital - Miribilla
Basketball matches: On match days at the Bilbao Arena, 1 line is created:
- E7: Abando - Bilbao Arena
A stop is also been added to lines 30, 71, 75 and 76.
Tourist line
Bilbao City View is the official city hop-on hop-off bus service that will allow you to discover the city from a new perspective thanks to our double-decker buses with panoramic and open tops. Purchasing a ticket will allow you to hop on and off as many times as you like throughout the day.
Ridership
| Ridership | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Passengers | |
| 1995 | 32,495,855 | |
| 1996 | 29,593,660 | |
| 1997 | 26,840,889 | |
| 1998 | 23,146,360 | |
| 1999 | 22,622,032 | |
| 2000 | 22,729,418 | |
| 2001 | 23,277,373 | |
| 2002 | 23,146,360 | |
| 2003 | 24,092,925 | |
| 2004 | 25,517,892 | |
| 2005 | 26,086,405 | |
| 2006 | 27,264,583 | |
| 2007 | 27,704,658 | |
| 2008 | 26,004,174 | |
| 2009 | 25,754,504 | |
| 2010 | 25,424,770 | |
| 2011 | 26,578,761 | |
After the inauguration of Metro Bilbao in 1995, the number of passengers transported by Bilbobus fell from 32 million to around 29 million. The underground's extension to the neighborhood of Santutxu in 1997, accelerated the decline in ridership, and it fell below 23 million in 1999. Some lines were suppressed, and the number of bus units used was lowered.
A reorganization of lines, and an improvement of the service have led to an increase of the ridership.
Busiest lines in 2007
- Peñascal - Mina Del Morro: 2,008,969 passengers
- La Peña - Jesusen Bihotza: 1,959,000 passengers
- Otxarkoaga - Plaza Biribila: 1,789,088 passengers
- Txurdinaga - Miribilla: 1,681,512 passengers
- San Ignazio - Txurdinaga: 1,673,612 passengers
Fares and tickets
Passengers are typically recommended to use a Creditrans ticket of the Barik card. The card is validated each time you board the bus. The Barik card is also valid on Renfe, Euskotren, Tram (Euskotren), Metro Bilbao and BizkaiBus bus services, which extend wider out of the city centre into all of Biscay.
| Type of ticket | In 2024 (With government aid)[3] | In 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| Single ticket (Maximum change allowed 20€) | 1,35 € | 1,20 € |
| Creditrans Barik | 0,33 € | 0,57 € |
| Gizatrans Barik (+65yo, disabled) | 0,16€ | 0,28 € |
| Hirukotrans F20 (Large family General Category) | 0,24 € | 0,45 € |
| Hirukotrans F50 (Large Family Special Category) | 0,16 € | 0,28 € |
| Bilbotrans (Subsidised social ticket) | 0,16 € | 0,28 € |
| Gazte Bio (under 26 years of age registered in Vizcaya) | Monthly: 16,50€ | - |
| Transfer in less than 45' | Free | Free |
| En-route ticket (Fine) | 50€ | 50€ |
Bus characteristics
The fleet is made up of 153 vehicles, which during 2012 traveled more than 6,427,000 kilometers. All have a low lower floor, so they are adapted for people with reduced mobility (PRM), and have electronic panels inside to inform of the next stop, as well as the temperature, date and time. At the busiest stops there are passenger information screens on the waiting time for the next unit (there are 128), for which the GPS device incorporated in each vehicle is used. In addition, the units incorporate surveillance cameras both to avoid violent situations inside the bus, and to record the route along which the vehicle travels and thus be able to detect possible conflict points that cause delays (cars in double file, poorly placed containers, narrow streets, etc.) Likewise, the units include loudspeakers that announce the stops in case they travel blind in the vehicle.
In 1992, the first low-floor units (Van Hool A-300); as a curiosity, these vehicles, from Belgium, participated in the Barcelona 92 Olympics, transporting disabled people to the venues where the games took place.
In 1996, the first units equipped with air conditioning were incorporated, model MAN NL 202
The average age of the fleet is about six years, and it is made up of the following bus models:
| Model | Bodywork | Series | Features-Performance | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes Benz Sprinter city 65 | Mercedes-Benz | 9 | Air conditioning, partial low floor with ramp, acoustic and optical annunciator for the blind or hearing impaired, electronic sign; minibus. | 2017 |
| Karsan e-atak | Karsan | 20 | Air conditioning, low floor with ramp, kneeling, electronic sign, touch control panel, luminosity, aids for disabled people. 100% electric. | 2022 |
| Mercedes Benz Citaro C2 | Mercedes | 600 | Air conditioning, low floor with ramp, kneeling, electronic sign, European Euro VI standard, which entails a reduction in nitrogen oxides by 80% and particulate mass by 66% for all new registrations. | 2014/2015/2016 |
| Irizar i2e | Irizar | 700 | Air conditioning, low floor with ramp, kneeling, electronic sign. 100% electric. | 2016/2018 |
| Irizar ie tram | Irizar | 700 | Aesthetic attributes of a tram that combines the large capacity, ease of access and interior circulation of a tram with the flexibility of a bus, Air conditioning, integral low floor with ramp, kneeling, electronic sign. 100% electric. | 2022/2023 |
| Solaris Urbino 12 | Solaris | 720 | Air conditioning, low floor with ramp, kneeling, electronic sign, touch control panel, ample interior and exterior luminosity, plus measures to help disabled people. 100% electric. | 2020 |
| Solaris Urbino 8.9 | Solaris | 730 | Air conditioning, low floor with ramp, kneeling, electronic sign, touch control panel, luminosity, aids for disabled people. 100% electric. | 2023 |
| MAN LION’S CITY 10 E | Man | 731 | Air conditioning, low floor with ramp, kneeling, electronic sign, touch control panel, luminosity, aids for disabled people. With a vehicle length of 10.5 metres, the all-electric MAN Lion's City 10 E is a compact and extremely manoeuvrable off-roader. Its compact dimensions, a record turning circle of 17.2 metres and a wheelbase of just 4.4 metres make the latest member of the MAN Lion's City E family the ideal narrow-track solution for regular city centre service. 100% electric. | 2024 |
| Mercedes Benz eCitaro | Mercedes | 740 | They are 12 metres long and have three doors, no step on the third door, buttons with Braille inscription and acoustic and optical warning. They have a kneeling system to facilitate access, and a Hübner electric ramp and manual superimposed for PMRSR in the central door, with an integrated Led strip, the buses have two permanent spaces reserved for wheelchairs. 100% electric. | 2024 |
| Mercedes Benz Citaro Hybrid | Mercedes | 750 | They are 12 metres long and have three doors, no step on the third door, buttons with Braille inscription and acoustic and optical warning. They have a kneeling system to facilitate access, and a Hübner electric ramp and manual superimposed for PMRSR in the central door, with an integrated Led strip, the buses have two permanent spaces reserved for wheelchairs. Hybrid. | 2018/2019/2020/2021/2022 |
| Mercedes Benz Citaro C2 modelo K | Mercedes | 900 | Air conditioning, low floor with ramp, kneeling, electronic sign, European Euro VI standard, which entails a reduction in nitrogen oxides by 80% and particulate mass by 66% for all new registrations. They are 10.5 meters long. | 2017/2018/2019 |
| Mercedes Benz Citaro Hybrid K | Mercedes | 900 | They are 10.5 metres long and have two doors, buttons with Braille inscription and an acoustic and optical warning. They have a kneeling system to facilitate access, and a Hübner electric ramp and manual superimposed for PMRSR in the central door, with an integrated Led strip, the buses have two permanent spaces reserved for wheelchairs. Hybrid. | 2020/2021/2022 |
Retired buses, but perform other functions
| Modelo | Carrocería | Serie | Características-Prestaciones | Año |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes 0-405 N2 | Hispano VÖV II | 836 | Air conditioning, low floor with ramp, kneeling, electronic sign. Used as a mobile classroom. | 1998/1999 |
| Mercedes 0-530 | Citaro | 1039 | Air conditioning, low floor with ramp, kneeling, acoustic stop announcer for the blind, electronic sign. Used for road safety education | 2005 |
References
Media related to Bilbobus at Wikimedia Commons