Berga demands direct buses in Barcelona: "I have to get up before 5 a.m. so I don't arrive late for work."

BarcelonaEvery night before going to bed, Cristina—and many other Berga residents who work in Barcelona—begins to calculate how she'll get to work the next morning. "I have three options; all of them terrible. The first is to take the early morning bus, the 5:30 a.m. one, which runs along the old road. But it makes more than 10 stops, enters the towns, and the journey is extremely long: a long two and a half hours if everything goes well to get to work. It feels like an eternity," she explains. "Then there's another option, at 6:30 a.m., but I always rule this one out because it's only available during school hours, for students. It goes through Bellaterra and means more hours of travel, so I wouldn't make it on time," she continues. "So I usually take the 6:45 a.m. bus from Andorra, which is semi-direct, but it drops me off at 9:15 a.m., if all goes well and it's not full or delayed, at Bonanova, which means I'm late for work," explains this local resident, who works in the sector, who works in the sector, who works in the sector, who works in the sector, who works in the sector, "working from the bus with my laptop" despite being somewhat late. "If I have meetings, I don't take any chances and I go down by car, although I would prefer to go by public transport," she explains.

Not all workers have the flexibility that Cristina enjoys, and that's pushing them to the limit. Now they've grouped together to denounce the situation and demand improved bus services to Barcelona. "There are more and more people living in Berga and working in Barcelona, and the buses are full. Often, on the way home, people are often left on the ground, without a seat," adds Cristina, who explains that there have already been tense moments due to this issue. "And when you're not left lying down, with a bit of luck you get home by 8 or 9 pm: that's more than five hours a day of commuting; it's crazy, because by car it's two," says this resident, who acts as spokesperson.

Once the call was issued, the mobilization has been swift and has been widely followed: in just 10 days, they have collected more than 1,300 signatures and registered them with the City Hall. A motion is also planned to be submitted through the Berguedà Regional Business Association (ACEB) to demand improvements.

Objective: three direct buses

They are demanding "at least" three direct buses daily between Berga and Barcelona. "One at 6:00 a.m., another at 6:30 a.m., and a third at 7:00 a.m., without stops in between, and the return journey departs at 3:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.," Cristina emphasizes. "This isn't new, nor is it the first time we've asked for it, but they always give us the runaround: first because of fare integration, then because they told us they were going to set up a mobility roundtable that didn't help, and now we've had enough," she concludes.

The residents feel disrespected. Many must rely on family networks, and others go to extraordinary lengths to pay for university residences or rooms at exorbitant prices so they don't have to commute every day. "It's about having a real will to unite the region with good mobility. It would benefit everyone: residents, the region's economy, businesses, schools..." argues the residents' spokesperson.

Berga City Council agrees. "We fully support this residents' request and apologize for not being sufficiently attentive to this issue until now, although it is not our area of responsibility," excuses Berga Mayor Ivan Sánchez, who explains that he has already met with residents. He also shares part of the diagnosis: "The problem has worsened because more people are now using public transport, they make more stops, and there are more delays," the mayor admits. Furthermore, as the residents' group adds, more people now live in Berga and commute to Barcelona for work, and many no longer drive "due to entry restrictions and green labels." "It's true that more people are aware of using public transport, but there are also those who cannot change their car or pay for gas due to inflation, and added to this is the fact that we are one of the few places that still has tolls," the mayor emphasizes.

The increase in teleworking after the pandemic and the problems with commuter trains have also significantly increased demand for road transport. "In many cases, supply is no longer sufficient and needs to be increased," adds Adrià Ramírez, president of the Public Transport Promotion Association. For this group of experts, "we must ensure that everyone can have a seat if they want to travel by public transport," especially early in the morning, to go to school or work, "and that they can do so in a competitive timeframe." "Berga is a regional capital, and we hope the problem is solved as soon as possible, despite knowing that it is a problem that is also experienced in other places and that the system may have certain difficulties in resolving it," concludes Ramírez.

The institutional response

Be that as it may, the noise from the residents has begun to have an effect. Berga City Council assures that it has already contacted the Generalitat (Catalan Government), which designs the routes, and is now "awaiting a response." From the Department of Territory, the Director General of Transport and Mobility, Susi López, tells ARA that "this service must be structurally increased." "We are preparing an emergency plan that affects Berga, Sallent, and other municipalities in Catalonia to be able to increase services," she states.

The problem, however, is money. "We're at the end of the year and it's not easy to find funding to pay for these extra services, but we're trying," admits López, who hopes to have a clear answer on whether or not frequencies can be increased "in the coming weeks."

For López, the increase in travelers is partly due to the recent fare integration and the coincidence—during September and October—of the return from vacation and the start of the university course. "That's why what we've done so far are occasional reinforcements on the trips that had the biggest problems," he explains.

This newspaper has attempted to contact the service operator, Alsa, but at press time, the company has not yet responded to any questions from ARA.