Christian Busquets: "The bus is a strategic and very reliable service"

GironaSarfa is the red, white, and orange bus company that travels through the Baix Empordà and connects the Costa Brava with Barcelona. Its centenary brand, founded in 1921 and based in Begur, is absolutely integrated into the daily lives of many residents of the Girona regions. Since 2009, it has been part of the Sabadell-based Moventis group, and this 2026, with 240 employees and a fleet of 130 vehicles, it expects to reach 3.5 million passengers and exceed 11.5 million kilometers traveled. In addition to regular interurban transport, it manages more than fifty school routes, international services to France with BlaBlaCar, and corporate transport. At the head of the company is Christian Busquets, born in Platja d'Aro, who assumed the management on January 1st of this year after joining in 2023 as operations director.

Sarfa was born in 1921 to connect different Girona municipalities. What remains today of that original vocation?

— Above all, an appreciation for the territory. We work in 104 municipalities and maintain a very close relationship with the town councils and mayors, who know the needs of their neighbors. Sarfa has been growing, lately hand in hand with Moventis, but this rootedness remains very much in force.

As a native of Platja d'Aro, to what extent is knowing the territory closely important when managing the company?

— Obviously, it is always a value to add. For example, we know the effect of seasonality very well: from June to September we carry 50% of the 3.5 million annual passengers. This causes frequencies to increase significantly. In the Barcelona-Lloret-Tossa corridor, in summer we have a bus every 10-15 minutes, almost like a metro, and the connections from the capital to the Costa Brava reach 50 or 60 trips.

During these months, connections to the beaches are also in demand.

— Yes. In collaboration with the Generalitat and some town councils, we are expanding services to coastal municipalities, such as Palafrugell and its connections with Llafranc, Calella, Tamariu, Calonge and Sant Antoni. They work very well and facilitate the mobility of teenagers, the elderly and people who do not have a driving license, and they do not saturate parking.

Furthermore, in the Baix Empordà the bus assumes great centrality because it is a region without a train.

— Yes, it is a strategic and also very reliable service. We have seen it with the Rodalies crisis: it has been the buses, the road public transport, that have been able to lend a hand and help.

Many regular bus users do not have a car. Is the goal to get people with private vehicles to also choose this transport?

— The goal is not for people to abandon their private car, but to build a mobility system that makes public transport the easiest, most comfortable, and most efficient option for many trips.

What is missing to move forward in this direction?

— We must adapt to the growth in demand and new mobility habits. In 2025, the interurban bus service in Catalonia reached 90 million passengers, 30% more than in 2019, and this year the increase is 10%. This is explained by factors such as demographic growth, the shift towards second and third metropolitan rings, the fact that many young people no longer prioritize getting their driver's license, and competitive public transport prices. We must adapt with efficacy and efficiency, placing users at the center.

Is the on-demand bus that Sarfa has implemented in la Bisbal a paradigmatic example of this will to adapt to the needs of users and each area?

— Absolutely. It is a hybrid between a regular line and a taxi service: it only operates when someone needs it and calls it through an application. The bus is stationed at the Bisbal station and picks up people from the surrounding small villages. An algorithm determines the most efficient route. We started in November 2024 and the numbers have been growing because people are using it a lot.

Is the regular service for schools and companies also an example of these new usage habits?

— Yes, we are dedicated to transport and people's needs are very diverse. More and more companies see the fact of making it possible for their employees to travel by bus as an added value. The same happens with schoolchildren: it is a very important journey for many schools, and also for families.

Is Sarfa working to decarbonize its fleet?

— In recent years we have incorporated hybrid vehicles and will continue to do so, and we are studying the incorporation of electric vehicles on some interurban routes, although due to autonomy issues it is easier to do so on urban routes.

What changes have you wanted to implement since you took over the management?

— We are in a challenging moment that we must take on with great responsibility. For me, there are three strengths: digitalization, sustainability, and demand flexibility. We must provide real-time information and put the user at the center, combine the diesel fleet with electric vehicles taking into account that we provide interurban transport, and adapt ourselves to the new habits and needs of users. To achieve this, public-private collaboration is also important.

When someone says to you “I’m taking the Sarfa”, what do you think?

— It is a pride and a responsibility. The satisfaction of being able to be part of a centenary company, with people who started at 17 or 18 years old and today are 40 or 45 and have developed their entire professional career at Sarfa.