Laia Bonet, Barcelona's deputy mayor and president of Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), is scheduled to present the public transport operator's bus fleet acquisition plan on Tuesday 14 July at 9.30am at the TMB Zona Franca depot, Carrer A de la ZF 30-48, according to the Barcelona City Council press office.

For daily bus users, the practical significance is that TMB has been using recent purchases to replace ageing vehicles in regular service, while increasing the share of zero-emission buses. That affects reliability on ordinary routes and the type of vehicles passengers board, particularly on lines where electric and hydrogen buses have already been introduced.

TMB has tied recent purchases to replacing older buses

In February, TMB said it had launched a tender to buy 19 articulated electric buses, each 18 metres long and charged overnight, with delivery planned during 2026. According to TMB statements reported at the time, those vehicles are intended to replace buses currently in circulation and to push the operator beyond the 25% zero-emission share it said it had already reached in 2024.

That tender had a base budget of 18.392 million euros, according to the same TMB statement. The operator said the spending was aimed not only at lowering the average age of the fleet and improving reliability, but also at reducing environmental impact.

"With this tender, we reaffirm our commitment to a zero-emission bus fleet," Laia Bonet said in TMB remarks reported in February, adding that the fleet had continued to grow to provide more sustainable public transport.

For commuters, that means the plan is not only about long-term climate targets. TMB has explicitly linked the purchases to renewing buses that are already on the road, which can affect breakdown rates, comfort and service consistency on the network.

Zero-emission fleet has grown through electric and hydrogen orders

TMB said in February that its zero-emission fleet already consisted of 46 hydrogen vehicles and 196 fully electric buses. By October, when TMB announced the contract award for the 19 articulated electric buses, it said the fleet had risen to 46 hydrogen vehicles and 202 fully electric buses, still representing 25% of the urban bus fleet before the new vehicles arrive at the end of 2026.

According to that October announcement, the contract was awarded to BYD for 17.2 million euros. TMB said the new articulated buses will have capacity for 120 passengers and will replace vehicles that are reaching the end of their useful life.

  • 19 new articulated electric buses are planned for delivery in 2026.
  • The tender launched in February carried a base budget of 18.392 million euros.
  • The later contract award to BYD was announced at 17.2 million euros.
  • TMB said the vehicles will replace buses currently in service.

TMB also said in February that, alongside the articulated bus tender, it had awarded the purchase of its first 18 double-decker electric buses for the Barcelona Bus Turístic service and five electric minibuses for the Bus de Barri neighbourhood bus service. It said prototype testing for both vehicle types had already been completed and that only formal contract completion was pending, with final vehicles due by the end of that year.

Earlier fleet expansion has been tied to named routes used by regular passengers. In March 2023, Barcelona City Council said TMB was presenting 78 new fully electric buses, made up of 49 standard overnight-charging vehicles and 29 articulated opportunity-charging vehicles, for use on the fully electrified H16 and V15 lines, while also being able to run on lines 7 and 33.

The council said those 78 buses cost 46 million euros and formed part of a broader 475 million euro investment in rolling stock across bus and metro over four years. It added that, by the end of 2024, TMB expected to have 232 electric vehicles and 44 hydrogen buses, enough to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 4,785 tonnes a year and nitrogen oxides by 22 tonnes a year.

Separate reporting in 2023 said TMB had announced the purchase of 36 hydrogen buses for incorporation before 2024, and that the operator expected 25% of the fleet to be zero-emission the following year. That report also said the hydrogen buses in service were being used on the X1, the semi-direct route between Plaça de Francesc Macià and Plaça de les Glòries.

Bonet's appearance on Tuesday is due to take place at the TMB Zona Franca depot at 9.30am, according to the City Council notice.

Primary sources: ajuntament.barcelona.cat, Ramon, noticies.tmb.cat. Reported by Europa Press, Glòria Ayuso, beteve.cat, Tiana May, Editorial Staff, eib.org, Railway-News, assured-project.eu, Chris Randall, Laurent Meillaud.