How to book a taxi in Barcelona
Some useful information about local transport in Barcelona:
how to book a taxi in Barcelona
Taxis charge €1.75 flagfall (€1.85 from 9pm to 7am weekdays and all day Saturday, Sunday and holidays) plus meter charges of €0.78 per kilometre (€1 at night and on weekends). A further €3 is added for all trips to/from the airport, and €0.90 for luggage bigger than 55cm x 35cm x 35cm. The trip from Estació Sants to Plaça de Catalunya, about 3km, costs about €8 to €10. You can call a taxi) or flag them down in the streets. The call-out charge is €3.09 (€3.86 at night and on weekends). In many taxis it is possible to pay with credit card and, if you have a local telephone number, you can join the Ràdio taxi service or you can book online. General information is available calling 010.
Book Taxi Barcelona gives to you regular taxis (not shared transporttation) with fixed fares, all included. You can book up to 1 hour before pick-up, and cancel your booking up to 1 hour before at no cost. You can choose the type of vehicle you need, up to 7 people with extra luggages.
Trixis
These three-wheeled cycle taxis (93 310 13 79; www.trixi.info; Plaça dels Traginers 4) operate along the waterfront (11am to 8pm daily) between March and November). They can take two passengers and cost €10/18 per half-hour/hour. Children aged three to 12 pay half-price. You can find them near the Monument a Colom and in front of La Catedral.
Bus & tram
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB; 010; www.tmb.cat) buses run along most city routes every few minutes from 5am or 6am to 10pm or 11pm. Many routes pass through Plaça de Catalunya and/or Plaça de la Universitat. After 11pm a reduced network of yellow nitbusos (night buses) runs until 3am or 5am. All nitbus routes pass through Plaça de Catalunya and most run every 30 to 45 minutes.
Catalonia
Much of the Pyrenees and the entire Costa Brava are served only by buses, as train services are limited to important railheads such as Girona, Figueres, Lleida, Ripoll and Puigcerdà. Various bus companies operate across the region. All of the following operate from Estació del Nord (902 303222; www.barcelonanord.com; Carrer d’Ali Bei 80; Arc de Triomf), except Hispano-Igualadina and TEISA:
Alsina Graells (902 422242; www2.alsa.es) Part of the Continental-Auto group, it runs buses from Barcelona to destinations west and northwest, such as Vielha, La Seu d’Urgell and Lleida.
Barcelona Bus (902 130014; www.sagales.com, in Catalan & Spanish) Runs buses from Barcelona to Girona (and Girona-Costa Brava airport), Figueres, parts of the Costa Brava and northwest Catalonia.
Hispano-Igualadina (902 447726; www.igualadina.net; Estació Sants & Plaça de la Reina Maria Cristina) Serves central Catalonia.
SARFA (902 302025; www.sarfa.com) The main operator on and around the Costa Brava.
TEISA (972 20 48 68; www.teisa-bus.com; Carrer de Pau Claris 117; Passeig de Gràcia) Covers a large part of the eastern Catalan Pyrenees from Girona and Figueres. From Barcelona buses head for Camprodon via Ripoll and Olot via Besalú.
Long-distance
Long-distance buses leave from Estació del Nord. A plethora of companies operates to different parts of Spain, although many come under the umbrella of Alsa-Enatcar (902 422242; www.alsa.es). For other companies, ask at the bus station. There are frequent services to Madrid, Valencia and Zaragoza (up to 20 a day) and several daily departures to distant destinations such as Burgos, Santiago de Compostela and Seville.
Eurolines (www.eurolines.com), in conjunction with local carriers all over Europe, is the main international carrier. Its website provides links to national operators; it runs services across Europe and to Morocco from Estació del Nord, and Estació d’Autobusos de Sants (Carrer de Viriat; Sants Estació), next to Estació Sants Barcelona. For information and tickets in Barcelona, contact Alsa-Enatcar. Another carrier is Linebús (www.linebus.com, in Spanish).
Tram
TMB (902 193275; www.trambcn.com) runs three tram lines (T1, T2 and T3) into the suburbs of greater Barcelona from Plaça de Francesc Macià and are of limited interest to visitors. The T4 line runs from behind the zoo (near the Ciutadella Vila Olímpica Metro stop) to Sant Adrià via Glòries and the Fòrum. The T5 line runs from Glòries to Badalona. All standard transport passes are valid.
