Google Maps axes Barcelona bus line to discourage tourists from using it

Barcelona has just made unprecedented changes to the Google Maps app. Barcelona City Council one of the most popular bus routes has been removed from the search, 116, which connected the surroundings of Park Güell. The measure comes after years of complaints from neighborswho saw the line crowded with tourists due to the good and fast connection.

Route 116 is an urban line equipped with vehicles called minibuses, which are slightly larger than a cargo van and can carry about 20 passengers. A few years ago he was responsible for transporting residents from one side of Park Güell to the other, but since tourists discovered his route they have flooded it.

According to regulars Newspaper, The bus was so popular that several elderly people with walking sticks were left outside due to the large influx of tourists.. “I have friends who no longer waited for the bus because it was always full and they walked,” the neighbor noted in his statements.

Goodbye Google Maps, hello peace of mind

Years of complaining have paid off. Following reports from local associations, the Councilor for Security and Coexistence, Albert Battle, raised the possibility remove bus route from Google Maps. And so it was. After a couple of months of work, the proposal is being implemented.

At the moment, Route 116 does not appear as a transportation option on Google Maps.. No matter how many places are connected to Park Güell, the app indicates other ways to get to your destination. He disappeared as if he didn’t exist.

One day. This was the time it took for neighbors to rejoice and learn about the successful results of the project. invisibility 116. The disappearance of Google Maps caused tourists stop using it as a means of transportation. From extreme saturation it turned into several empty seats per trip. “It meant disappearing from Google and making a radical change.”– one of the line drivers confirmed to the quoted source.

Now the stop, which serves as a transfer to other lines, is still crowded. Tourists use it to catch other buses, but they pass by as the 116 approaches and their mobile phone tells them it cannot take them. The reality is different, but Google Maps hides it.

Measure seeking to expand

After the celebration, Neighbors have already begun to worry about other lines such as 24 and V19, which cover similar routes. Barcelona City Council’s measure sets a precedent, showing that it is now enough to deter tourists without showing them the benefits they can take advantage of.

Cesc Sánchez, one of the initiators of this proposal, is already joking about the next step: “The next proposal we will make will be to remove the entire Park Güell from Google Maps.”