By motorcycle
Barcelona is one of the European cities with the most motorcycles and mopeds on its streets. As a very flexible urban vehicle for use in the average short and medium distance journeys in Barcelona, the motorbike represents 16,5% of the vehicles in circulation emitting fumes in the city.
Motorbikes, defined as a means of transport with a small volume and high level of use, have advantages when moving around in the city. The flexibility of use, low consumption and little space it takes up on the public highway, both when moving and when parked, are some of the advantages it presents. On the other hand, the accident rate is a negative aspect that must be resolved and which has become one of the most important municipal challenges as regards road safety.
Its dependence on polluting fossil fuels and the loud noise it generates when moving are other problems to solve. The incorporation of electric technology in the motorbike sector, which, while it is taking hold slower than in the car sector, is helping to minimise energy consumption and the ensuing emissions, as well as noise pollution.
The amendments to the Byelaw on Pedestrian and Vehicle Traffic approved in November 2024, which seek to improve the shared use of spaces and prioritise pedestrians, structurally establish that motorcycles may not park on the pavement near schools or hospitals. This is to ensure that pedestrians have priority when entering, leaving and staying in these particularly sensitive areas.
