Editing Bilbao (section)

==Transport==
[[File:Bilbao - Intermodal 23 retouched.jpg|thumb|[[Bilbao Intermodal]] is the main bus station of Bilbao.]]

=== Roads and highways ===

Bilbao is a relevant transport hub for northern Spain. Bilbao is connected to three major motorways and a series of minor roads of national and provincial level. The city lies on two international roads, the [[European route E70]] that follows the coast of the [[Bay of Biscay]] and the cities of [[Santander, Spain|Santander]] and [[Gijón]] to the west and with [[Eibar]], [[San Sebastián]] and [[Bordeaux]] to the east. The [[European route E80]] connects the city with inner Spain to the south, including [[Burgos]] and [[Salamanca]] and continuing to [[Lisbon]], and [[Toulouse]] to the north. The [[Autopista AP-68|AP-68]] motorway (European road E-804) starts in the city, joining with [[Vitoria-Gasteiz]], [[Logroño]] and ending in [[Zaragoza]].

The city is connected with the regions of [[Cantabria]], Asturias and [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] via the [[Autovía A-8|A-8]] motorway and with [[Durango, Biscay|Durango]], Eibar, San Sebastián and the French border via the [[Autopista AP-8|AP-8]] motorway, which is a toll road. The AP-68 toll motorway to the south is the main road connecting Bilbao with southern Spain and the Mediterranean coast, connecting in [[Miranda de Ebro]] with the [[Autovía A-1|A-1]] to [[Madrid]] and in Zaragoza with the [[Autopista AP-2|AP-2]] to [[Barcelona]].

Minor roads passing through Bilbao or starting in the city itself include the national road [[N-634 road (Spain)|N-634]] which connects San Sebastián with [[Santiago de Compostela]] and runs parallel to the A-8 and AP-8 motorways. The regional road BI-631 connects Bilbao with [[Bermeo]], while the BI-626 joins the city with [[Balmaseda]]. The city is circled by the BI-625 and N-637 roads, which form a half-ring to the east, and the N-634 and A-8 to the west.

The city's main arteries the [[Gran Vía de Don Diego López de Haro]], which crosses the financial and business district of [[Abando]] and connecting it with the [[Casco Viejo]] to the east and the San Mamés area to the west. The Sabino Arana Avenue and Juan Antonio Zunzunegui Avenue provide a direct route between the central districts and the motorways while Autonomía Street joins the southern districts on an east-west direction. The city has 14 bridges connecting opposite sides of the [[Estuary of Bilbao]] and the [[Cadagua|Kadagua]] river, including the [[La Salve]] and Euskalduna bridges, as well a series of tunnels under the [[Mount Artxanda]].

=== Airports ===
[[File:Aeropuerto Bilbao Loiu 01.jpg|thumb|right|Bilbao Airport]]
Bilbao is served by the [[Bilbao Airport]] (BIO), the busiest terminal in the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]] and in the entire Northern coast, with more than 5.4&nbsp;million passengers in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aena.es/csee/ccurl/792/416/Informe2018_provisionales.pdf|title=Tráfico de pasajeros, operaciones y carga en los aeropuertos españoles|year=2018|publisher=[[Aena]]|access-date=24 May 2019|archive-date=14 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114210531/http://www.aena.es/csee/ccurl/792/416/Informe2018_provisionales.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is located {{convert|12|km|2|abbr=on}} north of the borough, between the municipalities of [[Loiu]] and [[Sondika]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?Language=ES_ES&pagename=subHome&MO=1&SMO=1&SiteName=BIO&c=Page&cid=1047658432537 |title=Cómo llegar |editor=[[Aena]] |access-date=22 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922012153/http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?cid=1047658432537&pagename=subHome&Language=ES_ES&SMO=1&SiteName=BIO&c=Page&MO=1 |archive-date=22 September 2008  }}</ref> 20 airlines operate in the terminal, including [[Iberia]], [[Lufthansa]], and [[TAP Portugal]]. Top destinations include [[London]], [[Frankfurt]], [[Munich]], [[Madrid]], [[Barcelona]], [[Málaga]], [[Paris]], [[Brussels]], and [[Amsterdam]].<ref name="deiaairport">{{cite web|url=http://www.bilbaoair.info/index.php/es/destinos-desde-el-aeropuerto-de-bilbao/|title=Mapa de destinos desde el aeropuerto de Bilbao|website=Bilbao Air|access-date=24 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501210827/http://www.bilbaoair.info/index.php/es/destinos-desde-el-aeropuerto-de-bilbao/|archive-date=1 May 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> It opened to the public in September 1948, with a regular flight to Madrid. On 19 November 2000, a new terminal building was opened, designed by Valencian architect [[Santiago Calatrava]]. In February 2009, a project was approved to expand the current building to double its capacity. Although originally expected to be completed by 2014, the [[2008 financial crisis]] and the decrease of passenger traffic delayed it to at least 2019.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.elcorreo.com/vizcaya/v/20101119/vizcaya/ampliacion-aeropuerto-bilbao-retrasa-20101119.html | title=La ampliación del aeropuerto de Bilbao se retrasa al menos 5 años | work=[[El Correo]] | date=19 November 2010 | access-date = 23 January 2011 | archive-date = 26 January 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126103340/http://www.elcorreo.com/vizcaya/v/20101119/vizcaya/ampliacion-aeropuerto-bilbao-retrasa-20101119.html | url-status = live }}</ref> No work has begun as of 2018.

Some low-cost airlines, such as [[Ryanair]], also use the [[Vitoria Airport]] (VIT) located in [[Foronda]] located 59&nbsp;km (37&nbsp;mi) south of the city.

=== Railways ===
{{Main|Bilbao rail network}}

[[File:Bilbao - Estación de Abando Indalecio Prieto 02.jpg|thumb|right|Bilbao-Abando railway station]]
Long-distance rail lines connect Bilbao with Madrid, Barcelona and other destinations in northern Spain. The city has four railway stations: the [[Bilbao-Abando railway station|Bilbao-Abando]] and [[Bilbao Concordia|Bilbao-Concordia]] railway stations are owned by [[Adif]] and operated by the Spanish railways [[Renfe Operadora|Renfe]], whereas the [[Bilbao-Atxuri Station|Bilbao-Atxuri]] and [[Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo]] stations are owned by the Basque railway network ETS and operated by [[Euskotren]], serving short-distance local destinations.

The Bilbao-Abando station is the main railway station of the city, with Renfe running [[Iberian-gauge railways|Iberian-gauge]] long-distance [[Alvia]] trains to [[Madrid]] and [[Barcelona]], as well as Intercity services to [[Vigo]] with connections possible to [[A Coruña]] and [[Hendaye]]. During the summer there are special trains to [[Málaga]]. The city will be connected to the [[Basque Y]] high-speed train network around 2023, allowing for high speed [[AVE]] trains to operate between the Basque capitals and also to Madrid and other Spanish cities in the future.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The new stations in Bilbao and Vitoria will be defined by the end of the year |url=http://www.elcorreo.com/sociedad/nuevas-estaciones-bilbao-20171030182922-nt.html |work=El Correo |date=30 October 2017 |access-date=11 September 2018 |archive-date=14 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914060659/https://www.elcorreo.com/sociedad/nuevas-estaciones-bilbao-20171030182922-nt.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The arrival of the new high speed services will involve the creation of a completely new underground station that will replace the current infrastructure. The construction is expected to begin in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Igea |first=Octavio |date=8 March 2018 |title=The new high-speed train station in Abando will cost 480 millions |url=https://www.elcorreo.com/bizkaia/nueva-estacion-abando-20180308151328-nt.html |work=El Correo |access-date=11 September 2018 |archive-date=13 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913185354/https://www.elcorreo.com/bizkaia/nueva-estacion-abando-20180308151328-nt.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Bilbao-Concordia station is located in close vicinity to Bilbao-Abando, and hosts the [[narrow-gauge railway]] services ran by Renfe under the [[Renfe Feve]] brand. Renfe runs frequent regional trains to the cities of [[Santander, Spain|Santander]] and [[León, Spain|León]]. [[Euskotren Trena]] runs regular services to [[Bermeo]] from the Bilbao-Atxuri station, while in the Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo station there are regional services to Durango, Eibar and San Sebastián.

=== Public transport ===
[[File:Bilbao Metro 05 2012 2406.jpg|thumb|right|Abando station of Bilbao metro]]
[[File:Bilbao Metro 05 2012 2111.jpg|thumb|Metro entrance in Moyua, called "''fosteritos''" after designer Norman Foster]]
[[File:Euskotren Tranbia Uribitarte2016.jpg|thumb|Tram unit leaving the Uribitare stop]]
Public transport by rail and bus is organised by the ''Bizkaiko Garraio Partzuergoa'' (Consortium of the Biscayan Transport). The consortium manages the [[Barik card]], a form of [[electronic ticket]] valid across almost all public transport systems of the [[Bilbao metropolitan area]] and [[Biscay]] province, as well as some other selected services in other provinces of the Basque autonomous community.

The mass transit rail system is divided into different networks managed by separate operators. [[Bilbao metro]], established in 1995, operates two underground lines with some overground sections ([[Line 1 (Metro Bilbao)|Line 1]] and [[Line 2 (Metro Bilbao)|Line 2]]). These two lines connect the metropolitan area following the estuary on both sides, starting in [[Etxebarri]] in the south all the way to [[Plentzia]] and [[Santurtzi]] by the coast. Line 1 was built following largely the same route as the Bilbao-Las Arenas railway, which was still active by the time the Metro system opened in 1995 and since has been replaced by it. The metro system stations were designed by [[Norman Foster]]. Line 3 of metro is operated by [[Euskotren Trena]], which also operates the regional services to Durango and Eibar as well as a commuter rail line that connects the centre of Bilbao with [[Lezama]] and the Txorierri valley. This third line of metro was inaugurated on 8 April 2017 and is expected to be extended to the [[Bilbao Airport|airport]] in the near future. Projects for a fourth and fifth line exist and are currently being studied.

Euskotren also operates a [[Bilbao tram|tramway line]] under the brand [[Euskotren Tranbia]]. The line follows the estuary of Bilbao across the central districts of the city, starting in the [[Bilbao-Atxuri Station]] and connecting important areas like the Guggenheim museum and the San Mamés football stadium. The original tram network started operations in 1876 and gradually expanded across the city to finally shut down in the 1960s due to being largely replaced by urban buses. The new tram system was opened on 18 December 2002, almost forty years after the closing of the original system.

[[Renfe Operadora|Renfe]] operates four commuter-rail lines in a system separate from the metro. Three of them operate under the [[Cercanías]] brand and are collectively known as ''[[Cercanías Bilbao]]'', while a fourth line is operated by Renfe Feve. The three lines operated under the Cercanías name operate largely overground and travel larger distances than the metro system, reaching municipalities outside of the metropolitan area such as [[Muskiz]] or even outside of the Biscay province, like [[Amurrio]]. The three lines all start in the [[Bilbao-Abando railway station]], whereas the line operated by Renfe Feve starts in the Bilbao-Concordia station.

The gaps in the railway service are covered by an extensive bus network. The urban bus system is operated under the brand [[Bilbobus]] and has 28 regular bus lines, 8 microbus lines and 8 night buses collectively known as ''Gautxori'' (night owl). The Bilbaobus network is limited to the city limits, and only a few lines extend beyond it. The [[BizkaiBus]] network fills this gap, with more than 100 lines, connecting the city with all other municipalities in the metropolitan area, as well as with most towns in [[Biscay]] and some in [[Álava]].

A [[Brittany Ferries]] ferry service links Santurtzi, near Bilbao, to [[Portsmouth]] (UK). [[MV Cap Finistère]] ferry departs from the [[port of Bilbao]], {{convert|15|km|0|abbr=on}} north west of the town centre. A service operated by [[Trasmediterranea|Acciona Trasmediterranea]] served the same route from 16 May 2006 until April 2007. [[P&O Ferries]] operated this route until its withdrawal on 28 September 2010 with a ship called the [[Pride of Bilbao]].

===Public transportation statistics===
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Bilbao, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 35 minutes. Three percent of public transit passengers ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 7 minutes, while 4% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is {{Convert|6.9|km|mi|abbr=on}}, while 10% travel more than {{Convert|12|km|mi|abbr=on}} in a single direction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://moovitapp.com/insights/en/Moovit_Insights_Public_Transit_Index_Spain_Bilbao-1505|title=Bilbao Public Transportation Statistics|publisher=Global Public Transit Index by Moovit|access-date=19 June 2017}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50x50px]] Material was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence]].</ref>
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