Once again, TRAM has carried out its yearly Passenger Satisfaction Survey to find out how users rate the service. The results
show that the spontaneous satisfaction (Perceived Quality Index) of users of the two
networks is still above 8. Specifically, 8.43 for Trambaix and 8.45 for Trambesòs.

To the question, “On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate the current TRAM service overall?” the tram’s users gave the service a very good rating, with an average score of 8.28 points for the two networks.

Once again, the most highly rated aspect of the Trambaix network is the ease of access to the platform and the trams themselves and, in joint second place, the speed of the route and the smooth and safe driving.

What is more, the scores for questions about the various aspects of the service have either remained the same compared to 2022 or increased significantly, as in the case of comfort/convenience during the journey, comfortable temperature inside the tram and ease of acquiring tickets at the TRAM stops.

With regard to Trambesòs, like last year the most highly rated attributes were, once again, accessibility to the platform and trams and the speed of the journey. The aspects with the largest improvement in the rating for 2023 were comfort/convenience during the journey and information during incidents.

The average user
The TRAM Passenger Satisfaction Study also shows the typical profile of tram users: a woman (59.5% on Trambaix and 64.4% on Trambesòs) between 41 and 64 years old (31.6% on Trambaix and 29.8% on Trambesòs), who lives in Barcelona (28.7% on Trambaix and 58.2% on Trambesòs) and who uses the tram on a very regular basis, with one or more journeys a day (55.2% on Trambaix and 54.9% on Trambesòs), mainly for work-related reasons (61.3% on Trambaix and 62% on Trambesòs).

Furthermore, 79.3% of Trambaix users and 78.4% of Trambesòs users say that they have alternative transport options for their journeys but prefer to travel by tram.

The survey, carried out between 22 May and 2 June on a total of 2,277 people, provides annual information on the opinions of travellers and their level of satisfaction. It allows TRAM to detect aspects of the service that are not rated so highly and implement any improvements that might be needed.

TRAM is supporting the Orpheus Classical Youth Association, a group of students and professionals dedicated to promoting classical music and young talent that aims to act as a hub for young Catalan performers and professional musicians.

The tram company of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region is sponsoring “Orpheus, la rebel·lió del mite” (Orpheus, the rebellion of the myth), the 2023-24 season of concerts organised by the Orpheus Association with the aim of providing a platform for young soloists and chamber groups. As well as showcasing young talent, the programme is also aimed at young audiences in order to stimulate, update and promote access to classical music culture among the younger generations.

The cycle kicked off on Saturday 21 October at the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site. The next event is scheduled for 10 December with the Concert for the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the inauguration of the Orpheus Youth Symphony Orchestra, at the Tinell Hall in Barcelona. The rest of the programme can be consulted at https://www.orpheusjc.com/

The collaboration is part of TRAM’s Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Plan, which encompasses a range of actions including initiatives that seek to promote access to culture.

The Barcelona Metropolitan Region tram has launched a campaign to tackle fare evasion and raise awareness among public transport users of the need to validate their ticket for each journey. With a play on words around fare dodging and justifications that won’t wash, the campaign uses the slogan “No excuse” along with various excuses that ticket inspectors and the customer service team hear on the trams every day, such as “I left my ticket at home” or “I just sat down to look for my ticket”. The posters also include a text informing people of the consequences of fare evasion – a €100 fine.

This campaign follows on from last year’s anti-fare evasion campaign, which used reverse psychology and invited users to “dodge your fare”, i.e. not to validate their ticket, at their own risk.

The number of ticket validations on the tram has increased during 2023, even surpassing pre-pandemic figures for some time periods, which is why ticket inspections will be stepped up over the period of the campaign. Currently, of the total number of ticket inspections carried out during the first half of the year, 1.38% on the Trambaix network and 1.83% on the Trambesòs network resulted in a fine. In the same period for 2022, these figures were 2.12% of all inspections on Trambaix and 2.86% on Trambesòs.

The campaign will run for one month and will be displayed on the trams themselves (vehicles, stops and ticket validation machines) as well as on the website and social media. In addition, the campaign will be accompanied by an increased presence of ticket inspectors on both networks.

The Barcelona tram has become the first public transport system in the world to install radio frequency sensors as a people counting system, as part of a pilot project launched by TRAM to determine platform occupancy in real time.

The sensors, which have been installed at various points on two TRAM stops, communicate with each other via radio signals. An algorithm then determines the number of people on the platform at any given moment based on the attenuation of the signal received by each sensor. This technology does not capture the identity of users, unlike other people-counting technologies such as wifi sensors or cameras.

The aim of this pilot project is to validate a system that will make it possible to take rapid action in the event of overcrowding, sending staff to stops or activating alerts over the platform’s loudspeaker. In addition, all the information gathered will allow a more efficient analysis of platform occupancy data, which will be used to create a database to forecast likely platform overcrowding times and generate statistics based on real situations.

TRAM innovates

The Barcelona tram continues to enhance the safety and reliability of its service through technological innovation. This is the third innovation project launched by TRAM this year, after the system to monitor the condition of drivers and the on-board air ionisation system.

For the second time this year, TRAM has beaten the record for the number of journeys on the Trambaix network – 84,305 in a single day. This is 590 journeys more than the previous record, which was set on 27 April this year.

Barcelona’s tram has already broken four records this year in terms of daily and monthly journeys. March was the first month in TRAM’s history in which more than two million journeys were recorded on the Trambaix network (lines T1, T2 and T3). In April a new record was set for the number of daily journeys on the same network, and in May both the Trambaix and Trambesòs networks (lines T4, T5 and T6) totalled 2,965,683 journeys.

The data show a clearly consolidated trend in public transport, with passenger levels returning to pre-pandemic figures.

TRAM has installed ionising units in the air conditioning systems of all its vehicles that offer a completely harmless way to reduce the presence of dust particles, bacteria, viruses and odours in the air.

These units – equipped with what is known as needlepoint ionisation technology – release positive and negative ions that electrically charge the oxygen and nitrogen molecules present in the air on board the trams. These molecules then attach themselves to particles of dust, bacteria, viruses and odours which, depending on the type, are either destroyed, fall to the ground or are trapped by the filter.

After a pilot test carried out in 2022 involving direct reading tests, active collectors and passive collectors, it was concluded that ionisation is capable of reducing the concentration of particles present in the air by between 80% and 95%. Now, all the city’s trams are equipped with this technology.