Last Thursday, La Vanguardia reported in the pages of Vivir about the recognition, by the main operators, of the inability of current public transport to absorb the trips made by private vehicle. On Saturday, this same newspaper echoed the growing discomfort of passengers on Renfe's regional and Rodalies services caused by the daily malfunction of the service, a phenomenon that has already acquired an almost endemic character and has led to hundreds of train users to organize on social networks to project their demands or, at the very least, express their deep discontent. This widespread dissatisfaction is also reflected with all intensity in the social conversation generated on X (Twitter) in the main Spanish cities. This is revealed by a new report from the Observatory of Social Conversation in Spain of LLYC and La Vanguardia, carried out by the consulting firm Llorente y Cuenca.
The study takes into account the comments made in car and pedestrianization). Both in Spain as a whole and in five large cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Bilbao), the largest number of detractors is towards the Cercanías/Rodalies service due to the poor functioning of the trains and the need to increase the investment. There are also majority opinions against electric scooters, especially due to the poorly resolved coexistence with pedestrians.
The bicycle is the mode of travel that generates the most comments in X. 45% of the conversation about the different modes of mobility in Spain refers to bikes. In second place are the Cercanías (18%), pedestrianization measures 16%), scooters (11%) and limitations on car use (10%).
The concrete analysis of Barcelona shows that there is widespread discontent with Rodalies. 74% of the messages in X are expressed in a negative tone towards this service, while only 7% express a positive perception. The result is even worse in the case of Madrid, where negative comments reach 75% (compared to 2% positive).
In the Catalan capital, the emergence of the scooter on its streets is also very present in the social conversation in negative terms: the messages in this sense referring in Barcelona to this personal mobility vehicle represent 68%, while only 7% are in a positive tone. The percentage differences between detractors and promoters of bicycles (61% and 22%, respectively); The limitations imposed on the automobile (46% vs. 21%) and pedestrianization (55% vs. 30%) are lower than in the social debate about trains and scooters.
In the comparison between Barcelona and Madrid there is an aspect that draws powerful attention. The Catalan capital has a reputation for being, and most likely is, a city that is friendlier to bicycles and pedestrians than the capital of Spain. However, the analysis of the conversations in X shows that in Madrid there are fewer negative comments towards bikes and initiatives to pedestrianize public spaces than in Barcelona.
The difference in records between the two cities is especially significant in the case of pedestrianization. Perhaps as a consequence of the policies applied in recent years by the municipal governments of both cities? It would not be surprising if the restrictive measures on private vehicles applied by the Ada Colau governments and the implementation of projects such as superblocks and green axes – in short, communicating vessels of mobility – could largely explain this extra of comments in a negative tone, perhaps because of what many Barcelonans who express themselves on social networks consider an excess, a braking step. On the other hand, in Madrid, a metropolis in which the local and regional governments of the Popular Party and the courts of justice made an effort to dismantle the previous mayor's commitment to pedestrianization, Manuela Carmena – something they only partially achieved – circulates through from this same channel, judging by the results of this report, a not inconsiderable current of opinion in favor of more daring measures in favor of pedestrians.
Also when establishing the inevitable comparisons between Madrid and Barcelona, we must highlight the wide percentage difference between the promoters of the electric scooter in the first city (22%) and in the second (barely 7% of messages in a positive tone compared to this personal mobility vehicle). In fact, from the very little acceptance that this modern means of moving around in an urban environment seems to have in the social debate of large cities – with the exception of Madrid – it is clear that the scooter has not yet achieved the aura of contributing to the sustainability of cities and healthier lifestyles.
Regarding the other three large cities analyzed in detail in this report on mobility from the Observatory of Social Conversation in Spain of LLYC and La Vanguardia, Seville is the second one that gives the most importance in X to pedestrianization, which is Furthermore, of the five themes considered, the least hostile and the most polarized of the entire analysis (44% of detractors and 37% of promoters). In general, projects such as those on Betis Street or Paseo Colón are valued, but criticism abounds regarding the lack of attention to the needs of citizens.
Valencia stands out for being the city that expresses the greatest hostility towards all issues and is the most critical of the use and regulation of bicycles, pedestrianization and the limitations imposed on cars, although, as is the norm, the greatest discontent is manifests regarding the Cercanías.
Finally, Bilbao is the city in which restrictions on private vehicles represent a higher percentage of the comments on mobility expressed in % of comments in a negative tone and 33% in positive tone.
