Insights on Night Bus Networks
Night public transport plays a key role in keeping cities accessible and active beyond daytime hours. This was the topic of the UITP Bus Network Planning webinar “Night Shift: Let’s Discuss Night Bus Networks”.
Experts from operators, authorities, planners and the industry shared perspectives on how cities can design effective night bus networks while addressing challenges related to safety, travel behaviour and operational constraints.
One of the central messages was that you can not copy one system to another, and that night mobility requires distinct planning approaches, according to each city’s specific characteristics, including its spatial structure, activity locations, and after-dark movement patterns.
Many of the messages and planning recommendations are also applicable to daytime network planning. This is especially the case since traditional transport planning has often been based on simplified commuting patterns between home and work, which tend to reflect male employment structures.
However, many mobility patterns are more complex. Women’s travel behaviour often involves several linked trips during the day and evening because of care responsibilities and daily activities.
Recognising these gendered mobility patterns, such as women making multiple trips for caregiving responsabilities or errands, is essential if transport systems are to respond to the needs of all users.
A central topic of the discussion shared was the relationship between nighttime mobility and perceived safety. Research presented during the session showed that travel behaviour at night is strongly influenced by safety concerns, particularly for women.
In this regard, it was highlighted that the experience of using public transport at night goes beyond the vehicle itself. The surrounding urban environment plays a major role in shaping how safe passengers feel when travelling after dark.
Walking routes to the stop, waiting areas and the last part of the journey can strongly influence the overall perception of safety. Factors such as good lighting, clear visibility, transparent shelter design and the presence of activity around stops can significantly improve the experience of night travel. For this reason, transport planning and urban design need to be considered together when addressing night mobility.
The Barcelona Example
The Barcelona metropolitan area shared its experience with the Night Bus network, which connects 18 municipalities across the region during hours when the rail system or daytime bus network is not operating.
During the day, around two out of three bus passengers in Barcelona are women, while at night, women represent about 52% of passengers and men about 48%.
The network has introduced measures to improve safety and confidence with a feminist approach, including improved lighting in bus shelters and on-demand drop-off stops that allow women and minors to get off closer to their destination when it is safe to do so.
With an increasing number of requests but a very small share of total use, it provides a real solution when a woman does not feel comfortable or feels unsafe, without causing any major impact on operations in Barcelona. A key recommendation from Barcelona was to start with a pilot and scale up the geographical scope.
The session concluded with a lively discussion and Q&A, during which participants exchanged operational insights and reflected on how cities can better integrate safety, urban design, and inclusive perspectives into night mobility planning.
What are the Bus Talks on Network Planning?
The Bus Talks on Network Planning webinar series is an initiative of the UITP Bus Committee’s Bus Network Planning workstream members. The series will showcase knowledge and recent publications and drive discussion with multiple stakeholders in the network design and operations domain.
The series will consist of a set of webinars throughout 2026, to be announced progressively and open to UITP members and, exceptionally, to non-members.
Each session brings together public transport professionals from operators, authorities, cities and industry to exchange practical insights on key bus topics shaping urban mobility today, focusing on real-world experiences, lessons learned and emerging trends to support better decision-making in bus planning and operations.
The next webinar in the series will be a focus on understanding the effect of traffic calming measures on bus networks, for which a survey is collecting worldwide use cases.
