On February 24, 2010, the City of Barcelona, Spain, publicly announced ambitious plans to implement a next-generation, bus rapid transit (BRT) network in January 2011; see news (in Spanish). The cutting-edge new system is based on research by CEE Professor Carlos Daganzo, who is also the Director of the UC Berkeley Center for Future Urban Transport, a Volvo Center of Excellence, which is part of Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies.
The new system, called RetBus, will cover the whole city with fast, high-frequency lines that will allow people to travel anywhere in the city quickly and reliably; see System Map. The Volvo Center collaborated on the plans with the Center for Transport Innovation (CENIT), a not-for-profit research center headed by UC Berkeley alumnus F. Robusté, also in Barcelona. Professor Daganzo conceived the advanced network system and led the scientific research effort underlying the plan development.