Bilbobus

Bilbobus is the name for metropolitan bus services in Bilbao.

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


The following is a list of the lines operated by Bilbobus:


 * 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: A stop is also been added to lines 30, 71, 75 and 76.
 * E7: Abando - Bilbao Arena

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
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.

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: