The Barcelona Transport System – as it is known in Catalan, officially called Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona abbreviated as TMB – is a commercial brand and management unit under which three municipal public transport companies operate in the city of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) and its metropolitan area.
The first is Ferrocarril Metropolità de Barcelona, S.A., the second is Transports de Barcelona, S.A., responsible for managing Barcelona’s urban bus services and other transportation, and the third is Projectes i serveis de mobilitat, S.A., which is owned by the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.
Although the three companies maintain an independent management and structure, they collaborate to maintain joint strategic lines – and in the eyes of users, all three are commercially presented under the same brand name without any distinction.
TMB, in addition to the metro and urban bus services, also operates other public transportation in the city such as the Montjuïc Funicular, the Blue Tram, and the Barcelona Tourist Bus.
Its predecessors were Tranvías de Barcelona, in turn the successor to Les Tranways de Barcellone and the CGA (Compañía General de Autobuses, successor to the bus services of La Catalana Graciense and La Central Barcelonesa) and in turn acquired by TB.
In 1967, it was renamed Transports de Barcelona following the municipal decision to close surface electric transport (Tramways and Trolleybuses).
Together, TMB is responsible for the planning and operation of public transport services that supply the municipalities of Barcelona, San Adrián de Besós, Esplugas de Llobregat, Badalona, Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Cornellá de Llobregat, and Hospitalet de Llobregat.
The fares of the Barcelona Metro and urban buses are regulated within the consortium of the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM), within the jurisdiction of TMB and which allows the issuance of joint tickets and passes for TMB and other transports. Companies such as Cercanías, the metropolitan tram (Tram), intercity buses and the Railways of the Generalitat of Catalonia.
Since the ATM network is extensive, it is divided into different crowns (zones) that increase according to the distance of the destination from the city, which proportionally directly influences the price of the ticket.
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