Bilbobus is the name for metropolitan

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

services in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

. The service is owned by the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of Bilbao. Operations will be transferred to

Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...

, the company that won the contract in May 2008. 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 has recently won a

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

prize for service excellence. It is part of a wider

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

network operated by the Basque government, recent additions to which include the

Metro Bilbao The Bilbao metro ( es, Metro de Bilbao, eu, Bilboko metroa) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Bilbao and the region of Greater Bilbao. Lines 1 and 2 have a "Y" shape, as they transit both banks of the river Ibaizabal and then combi ...

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

and the

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

line. They link the Renfe,

Euskotren Trena Euskotren Trena, formerly known just as ''Euskotren'' is a commuter, inter-city and urban transit train-operating company that operates local and inter-city passenger services in the provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, S ...

and

FEVE Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of 2 ...

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

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

The following is a list of the lines operated by Bilbobus, taken from thei
website
* 01 Arangoiti - Plaza Biribila * 03 Plaza Biribila - Otxarkoaga * 10 Elorrieta - Plaza Biribila * 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 Santutxu is a neighbourhood of the Spanish city of Bilbao. It belongs to the 4th urban district, named Begoña. It is a popular residential neighbourhood which has a significant number of small businesses and has received some waves of immigrati ...

* 38 Otxarkoaga - Termibus * 40 La Peña - Plaza Biribila * 43 Garaizar - Santutxu * 48 Santutxu - Lezeaga * 50 Buia - Plaza Biribila * 56 La Peña - Jesusen Bihotza * 57 Miribilla - Ospitalea * 58 Mintegitxueta - Atxuri * 62 San Mames - Arabella * 71 Miribilla - San Ignazio * 72 Larraskitu - Castaños/Gazteleku * 75 San Adrián - Atxuri * 76 Artatzu/Xalbador -

Moyúa Moyúa, or Elliptic Square, is a public square located in the center of Bilbao's extension, in the district of Abando. The square was conceived in 1876 as a central hub in the middle of Gran Vía de Don Diego López de Haro avenue, from where th ...

* 77 Peñascal - Mina Del Morro * 85 Zazpilanda - Atxuri * 88 Kastrexana -

Indautxu Indautxu is a quarter of central Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain), located in the district of Abando. It is a relatively affluent neighbourhood and is most famous for the large number of private hospitals and clinics, the large Society of Jesus sch ...

Local District Lines (Auzobus)

*A1: Asunción - Plaza Biribila *A2: Solokoetxe - Plaza Biribila *A3: Olabeaga - Moyua *A4: Zorrotzaurre - Deustu *A5: Prim - Plaza Biribila *A6: Arangoiti - Deustu *A7: Artxanda - Arenal *A8: San Justo - Ametzola

Night lines (Gautxori)

*G1: Arabella - Moyua *G2: Otxarkoaga - Plaza Biribila *G3: Larraskitu - Plaza Biribila *G4: La Peña - Plaza Biribila *G5: San Adrian/Miribilla - Plaza Biribila *G6: Altamira/Zorrotza - Plaza Biribila *G7: Mina Del Morro - Plaza Biribila *G8: Arangoiti - Plaza Biribila

Special Lines (Especial)

*E1: Plaza Biribila - Bilbao Arena *E2: Plaza Biribila - Fronton Bizkaia

Ridership

After the inauguration of

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

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. The number of passengers has risen around 3 to 4 per cent yearly, and is expected to reach more than 28 million in 2008, its highest level in ten years.

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

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 trains,

and

BizkaiBus BizkaiBus is the name for bus services serving the province of Biscay, Spain. It is named after the Basque name of the province, ''Bizkaia''. The buses can be identified by their distinctive green (until 2009 yellow) livery. The bus network is i ...

bus services, which extend wider out of the city centre into all of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

. Tickets are also available on board at a flat rate of 1.15 euro.

References

External links

Bilbao bus service in real time with Google Maps
{{Bilbao Transport Transport in Bilbao