The Barcelona public transit is a collection of bus and metro systems that have been cobbled together into an “integrated” system with multiple organizations issuing different types of tickets. We went to the metro and got T-mobilidad cards with something called a T-casual fair which allows you 10 trips. The cards are a bit flimsy – appearing to be cardboard with a slightly glossy sheen but they do work once you go through the required initiation phase described below.
When you get on the bus, there is a validation machine close to the driver of the bus – but no – that’s not for you. That’s for some other type of card. If you do try to validate your T-mobilidad card on that machine you get an angry beep with a red light. You also get an annoyed driver pointing further back in the bus. A little further back, there is another validation machine for yet another type of card. For this type of card you put the card in and it pops it back out. If you try your T-mobillidad card on that one, you get another angry beep with again a red light.
Finally, in a somewhat confused state, you look further back in the bus and you see yet another validation machine. This has a large screen with a border around it. If you tap your T-mobilidad within the border, you still get an angry beep and a red light. However, you will notice a small wifi-like network symbol below the large square and if you tap the T-Mobilidad card on that, you get the green light with a message telling you how many trips you have left. Success! You have passed the initiation phase and are now able to travel on the Barcelona Public Transit system.
But what does that have to do with “being old on the Barcelona transit system”? I’m just now getting to the old part: if you pass the initiation phase and do get on a bus or subway car and you are old like us you are virtually guaranteed to get a seat no matter how crowded it is. That’s because someone will insist on giving you their seat. It happened every time either of us got on a bus or metro car. Occasionally there is a whole musical chair thing that goes on as handicapped and elderly get on the bus. We have never experienced that anywhere else but then we weren’t always old.
WR Foster 