I was disappointed that you can't buy tickets on the bus. You have to have the tickets in advance,…read moreeither in physical form, or on your phone with the app. But not with a handful of Euro, because the bus drivers can't take cash. We showed up expecting to be able to pay on the bus, and got an earful from the driver, who reluctantly let us board without paying a fare that we were unable to pay, not due to lack of funds, but because we didn't have the app, and there was no signal, and he wanted to get going on the route... The driver was good about raising and lowering the bus for a wheelchair.
The subways are okay- most of the subway stations are handicapped accessible, so you could get in and out through small elevators. Small. Small. Small elevators. Small. But most of the elevators don't stink as bad as some other major cities' subway stations. The signage is generally pretty okay, making it hard to get lost in. Some of the arrows are cryptic about where they're pointing to in the station. The stations and the trains and buses were all clean. Pretty spotless, in fact. Devoid of panhandlers, graffiti, or people sleeping, for the most part.
It was a bit frustrating with attendants who didn't know where they were, or ticket machines that were broken.
Speaking of the ticket machines- it seemed that the best deal was that 10 ride pass, but beware- it is only good for one rider. You can't, for example, have ten people ride once from one station. It cuts you off after the first fare.
Overall, the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona helped me get around pretty well and comfortably.
