Bilbao establishes dedicated coach stops to support traffic flow

This year, it is estimated that Bilbao Port will welcome over 100 cruise calls and around 250,000 passengers. It has been working with city regulators to help maximise the smooth flow of traffic into the city centre and around the main tourist attractions.

With this in mind, five new designated areas for discretionary coach stops have been established, all located near Bilbao's main tourist attractions. One is in front of the Guggenheim Museum, another two being close to the Euskalduna Palace and Performing Arts Center. In addition, two new pick-up and drop-off points have been created for coaches heading to Bilbao's famous Old-Quarter. Every designated area has room for a number of coaches.

The creation of these areas is for excursion coaches. In addition, the port provides shuttle buses to take passengers to the nearby Bilbao Metro at Getxo which is an increasingly popular, cheap and efficient method for guests to travel into Bilbao City Centre.

The Bilbao Bus Stop Project is funded by the Basque Government Department of Tourism and has been developed by drawing on experiences of other cities such as Barcelona, which already has similar systems in place. The council is finalising the network, which is expected to become operational later this summer.