The Metropolitan Transport Authority ( ca, Autoritat del Transport Metropolità, ATM) is a public consortium intended to coordinate the operation and project the expansion of the

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

system in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is made up of the

Government of Catalonia The Executive Council of Catalonia ( ca, Consell Executiu) or the Executive Government of Catalonia (Catalan: ) is the executive branch of the Generalitat of Catalonia. It is responsible for the political action, regulation, and administratio ...

and local administrations. It has been known as ATM ''Àrea de Barcelona'' since 2003 to differentiate it from the other existing Catalan public transport authorities in the

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

Camp de Tarragona Camp de Tarragona () is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain. It includes a central plain, surrounded by the Serralada Prelitoral mountain chain on the west and in the north, with the Mediterranean sand beaches of the Costa D ...

and Lleida areas, which are also identified as ''ATM''. , the ATM-managed public transport system comprises 50 different operating companies and serves 346

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

, accounting for a population of over 5.7 million. Created in 1997, the ATM has since developed an Integrated Fare System ( ca, Sistema Tarifari Integrat, STI) based on concentric fare zones. There currently exist about 80 different types of multiple-time tickets or unlimited passes for use on the STI, all of which allow free-of-charge interchange between transport modes in a single trip. In 2012, it was announced that the ATM was planning to upgrade the current magnetic stripe-based technology used on the STI to a

contactless smart card A contactless smart card is a contactless credential whose dimensions are credit-card size. Its embedded integrated circuits can store (and sometimes process) data and communicate with a terminal via NFC. Commonplace uses include transit ticke ...

validation system known as T-mobilitat, reducing all the existing ATM cards to one.

Integrated Fare System

The Integrated Fare System ( ca, Sistema Tarifari Integrat, STI) is the fare zone-based ticketing system run by the ATM allowing unified public transport fare integration throughout the Barcelona metropolitan area and beyond. The STI consists of six concentric fare zones centered in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

, numbered 1–6, which are further divided into sectors lettered A–H. The overall system virtually reaches the entire

province of Barcelona Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

and

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

provinces, serving a total number of 15 ''comarques'' (counties) and 346

, that is a population of over 5.7 million. Although the Berguedà and Ripollès ''comarques'' were incorporated in the STI on 1 January 2015, they do not appear on official maps because of their distinct operation. The STI uses magnetic stripe-based technology. Bitllet T-10 (ATM Àrea de Barcelona)

Almost all public transport services within the STI are fare-integrated, with the exceptions of tourist-oriented services such as th
Aerobús
express bus to Barcelona–El Prat Airport, the '' Tramvia Blau'' or the Montserrat Rack Railway and its associated funiculars. All major railway systems in the Barcelona area are fare-integrated, including the

Barcelona Metro The Barcelona Metro (Catalan and Spanish: ) is an extensive network of rapid transit electrified railway lines that run mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport s ...

, the Trambaix and

Trambesòs Trambesòs () is a tram– light rail system in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia that links the Barcelona district of Sant Martí with Badalona and Sant Adrià de Besòs. Its name comes from the union of the words "tram", an abbrev ...

light rail–tram systems, the

Rodalies de Catalunya Rodalies de Catalunya (, ; "Commuter Rail of Catalonia") is the main commuter and regional rail system in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia. It is administered by the Government of Catalonia and operated by the national rail operato ...

-operated Barcelona commuter rail service, as well as the entire Barcelona–Vallès and Llobegat–Anoia lines. The metro and the light rail–tram systems are entirely within fare zone 1. Nevertheless, there are the following exceptions: * Barcelona Metro: the ''T-10'' multiple-time ticket (see below) is not accepted at the stations serving Barcelona–El Prat Airport— Airport T1 and Airport T2 stations on Barcelona Metro line 9 (L9 Sud). Nevertheless, the rest of fare-integrated cards are valid. * Rodalies de Catalunya: its Barcelona commuter rail service also uses its own fare zone system for use with its non-integrated tickets. Although its fare zones are almost identical to those of the STI, they differ at some locations such as at Barcelona–El Prat Airport, thus creating differences on the prices for the same trip. There are eight basic types of fare-integrated cards—the ''T-10'', ''T-50/30'', ''T-70/30'', ''T-Mes'', ''T-Jove'', ''T-Trimestre'', ''T-Dia'' and ''T-16''—, all of which are multiple-time tickets or unlimited passes allowing free-of-charge interchange between transport modes in 1 hour and 25 minutes within one fare zone (plus 15 minutes for each additional zone). Single tickets are not fare-integrated and thus they do not allow interchange between transport modes or operating companies. All fare-integrated cards are identified with letter T followed by a hyphen ("T-") before a distinct name. There currently exist about 80 types of fare-integrated cards, depending on the number of fare zones permitted to cross, their validity period as well as the existence of fare reductions. Non-personalised fare-integrated cards can be purchased at railway and bus stations, at tram stops, at customer service points of the integrated companies, at CaixaBank cash machines, as well as at newsagent's shops and a number of small shops. The eight basic fare-integrated cards have the following features: The regular fare-integrated cards are not valid in the Berguedà and Ripollès ''comarques'' due to the limitations of magnetic stripe-based technology. Dedicated multiple-time tickets can be purchased for use on trips between Berguedà and Bages, Berguedà and Barcelona, and Ripollès and Barcelona. Fares on such trips are calculated as if these ''comarques'' formed an outer seventh fare zone. A ''T-10'' multiple-time ticket for use within fare zone 1 is also included with the dedicated card. A one- or two-zone ''T-10'' card can be used on trips within each of the ''comarques'', though interchanges between transport modes are not permitted. The fares for each type of card are calculated according to the number of fare zones crossed. Regarding unlimited passes, the first fare zone in which the pass is validated will determine the number of fare zones permitted to cross with that pass. Since fares are updated on 1 January of each year, the multiple-time tickets purchased the previous year expire on 28–29 February (depending on the year), whilst unlimited passes expire on 31 March. The 2017 fares (excluding reduced fares for large and single-parent families, as well as unemployed people) are as follows:

Notes

References

External links

*
T-16. Targeta de transport públic.
Dedicated website with information on the ''T-16'' card. {{DEFAULTSORT:Autoritat del Transport Metropolita Public transport authorities of Catalonia Transport in Alt Penedès Transport in Anoia Transport in Bages Transport in Baix Penedès Transport in Barcelonès Transport in Baix Llobregat Transport in Berguedà Transport in Garraf Transport in Maresme Transport in Moianès Transport in Osona Transport in Ripollès Transport in Selva Transport in Vallès Occidental Transport in Vallès Oriental