Q: I will spend my summer holiday in Barcelona and I have read that T-10 is a really advantageous travel card. Does it cover journeys by TMB bus, as well?

A: TMB Airport Bus (Number 46) is included in the Integrated fare system of Barcelona. Therefore, you can travel using all of the transportation tickets that belong to this system (for instance, T-12, T-Day, T-Month, T-Familiar, Barcelona Transport Card, for 2, 3, 4 or 5 days; etc). Since T-10 is one of those tickets, it will be accepted for your airport transfer.

Barcelona Card and Barcelona Pass also cover the travel by TMB Airport Bus (Number 46). Nevertheless, it is not recommended to order these city attraction passes just for travel purposes. If you are not interested in other attractions offered by them, a T-10 Transport Ticket would be a much more suitable deal for you.

From our perspective, T-10 is the most profitable deal for the vast majority of tourists, especially those who plan to use the public transportation of Barcelona, but also those who simply need to travel to and from El Prat in an affordable way.

If you buy a 1-zone ticket, for which you will have to pay 10,20€, 10 journeys on the bus, metro and trains of Barcelona are included. However, be aware that it does include taking the metro from the airport! It is a multi-person card, which means that the 10 journeys offered can be divided between different persons (for additional information – Kids and Families in Barcelona).

Since a single ticket for Bus 46 is 2,20€, purchasing T-10 would be more advantageous even if you travel less than 10 times using public transportation (for additional information – Order Tickets for TMB Airport Bus (Number 46) in Advance).  

There are various cards available for more than one zone but naturally, the price will increase with the number of zones chosen:

– 2-zone ticket – 20,10€;

– 3-zone ticket – 27,40€;

– 4-zone ticket – 35,25€;

– 5-zone ticket – 40,50€;

– 6-zone ticket – 43,05€.

In fact, the most important and popular landmarks of the city are situated in Zone 1, therefore it might be enough if you have a T-10 Ticket that only covers this area (for additional information – Attractions and Tours in Barcelona).

If you have a 1-zone ticket, you can change the transportation method three times within 75 minutes, and it will be considered as one journey. However, the use of two identical transportation methods is equal to a new journey. Metros operated by FCG and TMB are considered as two different means of transportation.

In regards to the validity of the T-10 Transport Ticket – theoretically, the ticket can be used for an entire year; practically, one month after the new prices are released at the beginning of every year, the cards validated during the previous year are not accepted anymore. If you still have an unused card from 2017, you have to use it until 28.02.2018. You can exchange them at any Punt TMB information and customer service center in Barcelona until 30.06.2018; however, you need to pay the price difference.

T-10 Transport Ticket can be bought at the automatic vending machines operated by TMB. You can easily find these machines at every metro station, however most of the bus stations in the city are not equipped with one. Only four bus stops have this facility: Espanya, Pl. Universitat, Gran Via – Passeig de Gràcia and Mitre – Av. Sarrià.

You can also buy this card at Punt TMB information and customer service centers, and at the information centers and stations ran by the other operators of the Integrated fare system. Additionally, you can obtain the card at Turisme de Barcelona and at Servicaixa ATMs, as well as from newsagents and tobacconists.

Certainly, you can also purchase your ticket at the airport, however keep in mind that it is not possible to buy it from the bus driver. The tickets are available at the entrance of the RENFE train station and at newsagents and tobacconists. For example, there is a tobacconist available at the parking entrance of Terminal 2.

After you have purchased the ticket, it needs to be validated. On the TMB buses, you have to use the small ticket validation boxes.

Damaged cards (or even undamaged, but only in case it cannot be validated) can be changed if you ask the driver. Problems might occur at metro stations, where it is quite unlikely to find qualified staff which can help.

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