The Agència Tributària de Catalunya (ATC) disembarked at the Zona Franca promenade in 2016. At that time, the administrative district, located between the municipal terms of Barcelona and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, was not the same as it is today day. Thousands of officials from various departments of the Generalitat de Catalunya had not yet disembarked in modern office buildings. There was also no metro stop relatively close.
Seven years ago, a free bus service was established for the employees of what is also known as the Catalan treasury, which brought them to their place of work from the center of the Catalan capital. As reported by La Vanguardia in 2016, citing sources from the Department of Economy, assistance would be active until the subway arrived. But despite the fact that the Foc metro station, located about 300 meters away, has been a reality since 2018, the Generalitat de Catalunya continues to renew the service.
This week, a new tender for coaches intended for civil servants with a budget of 132,295 euros has gone out to public tender. The object of the contract is the "transport service intended for the staff of the headquarters of the Agència Tributària de Catalunya, located at Paseo de la Zona Franca, 46, in Barcelona, between January 1 and December 31 of the year 2024", as stated in the documentation of the public tender.
In the scope of the justification of the need for the documentation of the new tender, it is explained that in 2020 the "joint use" of the transport service of the ATC was agreed with the one contracted in its moment the administrative district. It is therefore argued that the new contract will serve to "give continuity to the transport service of the ATC and to the collaboration with the administrative district". In other words, the officials of the two services share coaches.
In this sense, sources from the Department of Economy of the Generalitat now say that the shuttle bus service "was not conditioned on the arrival of the metro". Although they do not doubt that in 2016 someone from the department commented to the contrary, they reaffirm that "it was not formally conditioned". In fact, they explain that it has been "renewed year after year".
However, the arrival of the metro in the Zona Franca did mean some change: a reduction in expeditions from fourteen to ten.
According to the conditions of the tender, five coaches will leave every half hour from Plaça Catalunya between 7.05 am and 9 am. In less than half an hour, they will put the final point on their journey in the administrative district. In the meantime, they will make two stops, one in Plaça Espanya and another in the ATC building. Return expeditions, ending at Plaça Catalunya, will leave between half past three in the afternoon and half past six.
The company that wants to choose to win the tender must present vehicles with at least fifty seats. The forecast for next year is to make around 2,500 trips. The deadline for submission of offers will end on November 29.
