• Remote working is consolidated at around 9-10% and personal mobility doubles occupational mobility.

• T-mobilitat satisfaction levels have been rated 9.1.
   
• These are data from the Weekday Mobility Survey (EMEF) 2023, an official reference statistical operation fostered by the ATM and carried out by the Institut Metròpoli.

Barcelona 8 July 2024.- Mobility in the ATM area of Barcelona broke a record in 2023, surpassing 20 million journeys in a weekday, with an increase of 5.5% compared to 2022 and 5.2% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Although the increase in the resident population is an explanatory factor (1.5%), mobility per person per day is also on the rise. Therefore, the average number of daily journeys per person also reached 4.11, up from 3.96 in 2022 and 4.05 in 2019.  

SIMMB (Integrated Metropolitan Mobility System of Barcelona), corresponding to the area or demarcation of Barcelona. Source: EMEF 2023.
 

They are data from the2023 Weekday Mobility Survey, official ATM statistics conducted by the Metròpoli Institute, for 20 years and considered the main benchmark for measuring mobility in the Barcelona area due to the quality of the sample (10,100 people surveyed) and reliability of results.

An increasingly sustainable mobility

Following the positive trend seen in recent years, sustainable transport use (on foot, bicycle, scooter and public transport) are the most popular on weekdays in the Barcelona area; reaching this 2023 67.5% of the modal share with 13.6 million daily journeys that demonstrate a positive trend of results to reach the global sustainable mobility objective. 

Active mobility (walking, bike and scooter or other Personal Mobility Vehicles) accounts for the largest share, exceeding 51%. Mode of transport 2019-2023. EMEF Data 2023.

With regard to 2022, public transport saw the biggest rise in absolute terms, undergoing growth of 14.4%. In relative terms, with respect to the total number of journeys, it is still slightly below 2019 values (16.4% vs. 17.2%), although, in the number of validations, the Barcelona ATM registered an increase of 3% in 2023 compared to 2019 and already exceeds 1.1 billion annual journeys. 

Private vehicle use has remained stable in absolute terms, however in relative terms its share of total mobility has decreased, accounting for 32.5%, which is the lowest modal share of the last five years. While motorcycle use slightly exceeds pre-pandemic figures, its combination with the car use has not reached 2019 values, with the use of the latter being reduced to a greater extent.
 

*Integrated Metropolitan Mobility System of Barcelona. Mode of transport 2019-2023. EMEF Data 2023.

As we get closer to the city of Barcelona, public transport and active mobility account for a higher modal share, while as we move away from the different territorial crowns, the use of private vehicles gains weight. 

Source: EMEF 2023.

Women use more sustainable transportation than men

More women walk than men (52.3% and 45.3%, respectively) and use public transport (19.7% and 13.0% respectively) with a particular difference with regard to bus use. On the other hand, men are more likely to use a private vehicle (38.4% compared to 26.7%). 

Among the different modes of public transport, the underground continues to have the highest modal share, exceeding 40%.
 

The convenience, the difficulty of finding somewhere to park and the lower cost of public transport compared to private transport are the most commonly stated reasons for using it

In the 2023 edition, passengers were asked why they use on mode of transportation over another in their day-to-day lived. The results, referred to the area of the RMB (Metropolitan Region of Barcelona), are compared with those of 2017.

The reasons for using public transport stated by users show, broadly speaking, values similar to those seen in 2017 in terms of the order of the answers more or less given, with comfort, the difficulty of finding somewhere to park and price being the main factors. Furthermore, there are several reasons that give it greater weight compared to 2017, in particular, the preference for public transport over private vehicles. 
 

Reasons for using public transport within the RMB. Comparison 2017-2023. EMEF 2023.

The main reason for travelling by bike is related to health and, therefore, cycling as a mode of transport is seen as a way to get some exercise. The reasons in second and third place are speed and sustainability. This third factor has grown significantly compared to 2017.

Reasons for travelling by bike. Comparison 2017-2023. EMEF 2023.

People using private transport stated that they do so because of its speed and comfort compared to public transport, in 2023 and in 2017 alike. It should also be noted that the third reason for using private transport, related to the lack of or inadequate supply of public transport, had higher values in 2023. 

Reasons for using private transport. Comparison 2017-2023. EMEF 2023.

The demand for public transport during peak hours has shifted 

The increase in demand for public transport is widespread in all time slots except for what is considered rush hour, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., where it decreases slightly. The most important increases occur between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. and also in the afternoon, which confirms a certain time shift in demand. 

Source: CGIT (Transport Management and Information Centre).

Mobility for personal reasons (41%), the highest in the last five years 

In the total of the SIMMB, personal mobility is more than two times greater than occupational mobility which stood at 16.5% in 2023, accounting for the lowest recorded in the last five years. Personal mobility accounts for 41% of the total and represents the highest of the series. Among the most prominent reasons for these journeys are accompanying and caring for people and running errands.
 

Source: EMEF 2023.
 

General mobility in the morning is more uniform in time than in the afternoon, which has a marked rush hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. coinciding with people making their way back home.

If the distribution of mobility is analysed in time slots, the afternoon rush hour (from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) accumulates 25.8% of trips, while the morning rush hour (from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.) for work reasons and to a lesser extent studies represents 6.6%. In this way, it is observed how the mobility it is more constant in the morning, while in the afternoon most of the weight is concentrated at rush hour when people are making their way back home. On the other hand, optional personal mobility, which grew significantly this year, has a soft section in the morning, and a more marked one from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
 

Source: EMEF 2023.

Remote working is stabilising and the number of people who state that they do not leave the house is decreasing

In 2023, remote working figures were similar to those of 2022, around 9%-10% of working days. After a downward trend between 2021 and 2022 compared to 2020, remote working remained stable in 2023. The percentage of people working from home rose to 25% among employed people and up to 36% in the case of people who work in the city of Barcelona.
 

After exceptionally high values between the years 2020 and 2022, in 2023 the percentage of people who stated that they do not leave their homes on weekdays decreased and returned to pre-pandemic values, at 7.4%. 

Impact of discounts on public transport demand

Public transport pricing policies marked by discounts that came into effect in September 2022 accelerated the growth of demand for public transport in 2023, which continued to increase and reached historical highs, which currently exceed 1.132 billion validations in the last 12 months.

At the same time, the data from the 2023 Survey also confirm changes in user habits: increases the use of passes such as the T-jove or T-usual to the detriment of the T-casual and increased demand for Renfe's own free tickets from autumn 2022.

Even so, the majority of respondents, around 65%, declared that they use public transport in the same way, 12.1% use it more and only 1% have started using it thanks to the discounts. Among those who were already using it, at least 14% of them declared that they have changed their transport ticket. 

High levels of satisfaction with T-mobilitat

Users gave T-mobility a satisfaction rating of 9.1, on a scale of 0-10.

The majority of people who used T-mobilitat (surveyed between October and November 2023) use it as a plastic card (81.6%). The three most mentioned reasons why these people use it in this format and not on their mobile are: convenience (44.7%), not having a mobile or not being able to install the application on their current mobile (24.1%) and caution due to a possible forgetfulness or running out of mobile phone battery (17.2%). Its use in relation to the total of tickets already exceeds 70% and is on the rise. 

The main reasons why T-mobility is not used are: lack of knowledge (30.5%), never or almost never using public transport (25%) and occasional use of public transport (20%). 
 

Mobility survey on workdays 

The EMEF is an annual statistic that has been carried out since 2003 for people aged 16 and over living in the Barcelona ATM area. Based on the data it provides, mobility patterns can be analysed based on the characteristics of the population and the different regions. Since 2013, it has been considered an official statistic, demonstrating its rigour and reliability due to the quality of the sample and the methodology. 

The EMEF 2023 fieldwork was carried out in two periods: spring and autumn. 

It should be taken into account that the EMEF does not include the mobility of people who move through this area, but who are not residents (floating population, tourists or visitors). Similarly, the EMEF collects information on mobility on weekdays, therefore no information on mobility is obtained on weekends or public holidays.  Displacements are also not considered in this analysis in labore of the professional population, in other words, a population whose jobs require moving around (taxi drivers, couriers, transporters, salespeople, technicians,emergency services, etc.).

2024 edition

At this moment, the field work of the first wave of the EMEF 2024 edition has been completed. The information collection methods are the same as those used in previous editions, with an initial forecast of conducting 2,605 online interviews and 8,795 through telephone calls, amounting to a total of 11,400 surveys. 

Data from the new Mobility Observatory of Catalonia

This survey is available on the website of the Barcelona ATM and on the web portal of the Catalonia Mobility Observatory (OMC), the digital platform fostered by the Generalitat that seeks to integrate in a single web page all the information related to the mobility of Catalonia. The results will also be soon published by area, Barcelona, AMB and RMB.

Access the Survey directly at this link.  
 

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