Catalonia considers banning standing passengers on intercity buses after the Fogars de Montclús accident

The Generalitat de Cataluña has opened a debate on the safety of intercity buses following the Fogars de Montclús accident, in which 83 people had to be treated by emergency services.

The Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, has raised the possibility of tightening transport conditions to prevent passengers from travelling standing on certain routes.

In an interview on RAC1, Parlon described it as a “miracle” that the accident did not result in any fatalities and stressed the need to consider new preventive measures.

Travelling seated and with a seatbelt on intercity buses

Currently, regulations allow passengers to travel standing on some intercity bus services, provided the established conditions for this type of transport are met.

However, the accident has brought into question whether these exceptions should be reviewed.

The Interior Minister believes that passengers should occupy a seat and use a seatbelt, especially when the route passes through mountain roads.

The proposal does not mean an immediate ban. For now, it is an option that the Generalitat wants to analyse before pushing for any regulatory changes.

The aim is to reduce the consequences of possible accidents and improve safety conditions during journeys between municipalities.

The accident left 83 people treated by SEM

The incident in Fogars de Montclús mobilised emergency services and resulted in a high number of people affected.

According to the information provided, the Sistema d'Emergències Mèdiques (SEM) treated 83 people, including seven seriously injured, 34 with less serious injuries, and 40 with minor injuries.

Despite the scale of the accident, there were no fatalities.

The circumstances that led to the incident are still under investigation, so the authorities have not established a definitive cause.

The Bombers de la Generalitat continue to work in the area as preparations are made to remove the crashed vehicle.

For this, the intervention of a heavy-duty crane is planned.

More buses and higher frequencies to avoid standing passengers

The possible modification of safety regulations also raises a practical issue: if all passengers must travel seated, some routes may need more vehicles to transport the same number of users.

For this reason, Parlon has mentioned other measures that could accompany a possible ban.

These include expanding the intercity bus fleet and increasing service frequency on routes where necessary.

These alternatives would increase the number of available seats without resorting to transporting standing passengers.

The Minister has insisted, however, that the options must be studied carefully before any decisions are made.

The Generalitat will review road safety measures

The Servei Català de Trànsit (SCT) and other relevant bodies have already been working for some time on analysing traffic regulations and possible improvements for intercity roads.

The Fogars accident could speed up this debate, especially regarding buses that travel on mountain roads.

Before establishing new requirements, it will be necessary to assess their technical, operational, and safety implications.

Parlon also noted that the investigation into the incident must continue and that it will be necessary to reconstruct what happened to determine its causes.

When could the ban come into effect?

At present, there is no set date for banning standing passengers on intercity buses in Cataluña.

The Generalitat has proposed studying a possible reform, but no specific regulatory change has yet been announced.

While the investigation into the accident continues, the debate is focused on how to improve passenger safety and whether current intercity transport conditions should be adapted to reduce risks on certain routes.