A popular tourist bus stop in Barcelona is being concealed from visitors to prevent locals from being swamped.
The number 116 bus, which stops at Antoni Gaudi’s Park Guell – the city’s second most visited attraction after the Sagrada Familia church – is often the transport of choice for those not wishing to walk, cycle or take a taxi to the park in La Salut neighbourhood.
However, residents have grown weary of the influx of day trippers congesting their buses, which can be easily accessed with a £2.16 single ticket.
Earlier this year, details about the stop appeared to be removed from Google and Apple maps, leaving tourists without a solid understanding of the public transport system in the dark about which bus to take and where to catch it.
The move has been welcomed by La Salut’s inhabitants, especially the elderly who have found the overcrowding of the public transport service difficult to manage.
The small 20-seater minibus that serves the route often struggles to accommodate all those wishing to board.
Speaking to elDiario.es, 75-year-old Luz Lopes said: “Before, the bus was so full even people with walking sticks couldn’t get on.”
A Google spokesperson in April indicated to The Guardian that such changes are typically made at the request of local authorities.
Barcelona, like many tourist hotspots in Spain, grapples with the double-edged sword of its immense popularity.
With a resident population of just 1.6 million, the city is swamped by an astonishing 32 million visitors annually, leading to overcrowded streets and attractions during peak seasons.
The spirited residents of Barcelona refuse to be passive observers, taking to the streets for the past 15 years with vociferous protests.
Locals have been seen brandishing signs branding tourists as ‘b******s’ and ‘terrorists’, bluntly telling them to “go home” and dubbing their beloved city “Carcelona”, a play on the Spanish word ‘carcel’ meaning ‘prison’.
Barcelona’s authorities have ceased issuing new licences for tourist accommodations and introduced stringent regulations to curb the proliferation of short-term private rentals.
Efforts are also being made to relocate cruise ships from the city’s central port, which holds the dubious distinction of being Europe’s most polluted, to less congested areas.
Tourists who flout local laws, including the prohibition of smoking on beaches, could find themselves slapped with significant fines.