Exprés.cat

Exprés.cat is the brand name for the network of high-performance interurban bus services promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the regional government of Catalonia, Spain. The network is designed around the highest-demand intercity bus corridors in each of Catalonia's provinces and metropolitan areas, and it is managed through the Departament de Territori, Habitatge i Transició Ecològica (Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition). The brand was launched on 29 October 2012 with four initial lines, and it has been progressively expanded toward a planned total of around forty lines covering the Barcelona metropolitan area, Girona, Tarragona and Lleida. The defining characteristics of an exprés.cat service, as described by the Generalitat, are high frequency, the use of modern and accessible vehicles, high commercial speed, real-time passenger information, operation on segregated lanes where available, and strong passenger demand. The network is intended to respond to the large increase in demand for interurban bus transport by concentrating investment and branding on the corridors that carry the most passengers. According to the Spanish-language Wikipedia entry, the lines included in the network carry on the order of 21.32 million passengers, representing about 40% of total bus demand in Catalonia, with an average occupancy of roughly 30 passengers per trip. Exprés.cat is not a bus operator itself. It is a branding and service-quality framework applied to lines that are operated by private bus companies under contract to the regional administration. For example, the e1 line linking Sabadell, Castellar del Vallès and Barcelona is operated by Moventis, and the official website provides links to the operator's own timetables as well as to the Generalitat's real-time data viewer and to the integrated fare system of the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM). Fares on the network are integrated into the ATM tariff system, and schedules and passenger data are published through the Generalitat's open data and mobility platforms. The network has grown in phases. Seven of the first nine operational lines were located in the Barcelona metropolitan area and two in the Tarragona metropolitan area, and the first line in the Girona metropolitan area entered service on 1 July 2014. Plans reported by the Generalitat also included a Barcelona–Mataró line intended to replace and improve the C1, C2 and C5 lines previously operated by the company Casas. The brand is therefore best understood as a public-sector product brand for a coordinated, high-frequency intercity bus product rather than as a standalone commercial company.

Exprés.cat was created by the Generalitat de Catalunya as a branding and service framework for the interurban bus lines with the greatest passenger demand in Catalonia. The network entered into operation on 29 October 2012 with four lines. Its purpose was to concentrate attention and investment on the busiest intercity corridors, which had been served by a fragmented set of conventional interurban routes operated by different private companies under concession from the regional administration. The design of the network reflected a set of service standards that the Generalitat described as characteristic of high-performance bus networks: high frequency, modern and accessible vehicles, high commercial speed, real-time information, circulation on segregated lanes, and high demand. These standards were intended to make interurban bus travel more attractive and to respond to the strong growth in demand for intercity bus transport. The network was planned to grow to around forty lines distributed across the Barcelona metropolitan area, Girona, Tarragona and Lleida. By the early years of operation, nine lines were already running, seven of them in the Barcelona metropolitan area and two in the Tarragona metropolitan area. The first line in the Girona metropolitan area entered service on 1 July 2014. According to the Spanish-language Wikipedia entry, the planned network was expected to carry about 21.32 million passengers, equivalent to roughly 40% of total bus demand in Catalonia, with an average occupancy of about 30 passengers per trip. A further planned development reported by the Generalitat was a Barcelona–Mataró line intended to replace and improve the C1, C2 and C5 lines operated by the company Casas, with a target launch around 2015. The network continued to be presented through the Department of Territory's official pages, which publish a network map, a viewer of interurban bus passenger data, corporate identity materials, and per-line information including municipality, operator, route, timetables and fares. For example, the e1 line serving Sabadell, Castellar del Vallès and Barcelona is operated by Moventis, and its timetable and fare information are linked through the Generalitat's mobility platform and the ATM integrated fare system. Because Exprés.cat is a public-sector brand rather than a company, its history is closely tied to the transport policies of the Generalitat de Catalunya and to the successive expansions of the network. The brand has become the umbrella identity for the highest-demand interurban bus corridors in Catalonia, complementing other public transport networks such as Rodalies de Catalunya, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Barcelona orthogonal bus network.

• 2015

  Planned launch of the Barcelona–Mataró line to replace and improve the C1, C2 and C5 lines operated by Casas.

• 2014

  First exprés.cat line in the Girona metropolitan area enters service.

• 2012

  Exprés.cat network enters into operation with 4 lines.

Public-sector high-performance interurban bus network brand emphasizing frequency, speed, accessibility, real-time information and segregated lanes on Catalonia's highest-demand corridors.

• e1 Sabadell – Castellar del Vallès – Barcelona

1. 1Exprés.cat. Departament de Territori, Habitatge i Transició Ecològicaterritori.gencat.cat
2. 2Exprés.cat – Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org
3. 3Exprés.cat – Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Sobre la traducció. Departament de Territori, Habitatge i Transició Ecològicaterritori.gencat.cat
5. 5Jornada sobre l’evolució i l’estat actual de la implementació del BIM a la Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Territori, Habitatge i Transició Ecològicaterritori.gencat.cat
6. 6Escola de Sobreestants d'Obres Públiques. Departament de Territori, Habitatge i Transició Ecològicaterritori.gencat.cat