Pegaso 6038

The Pegaso 6038 was the emblematic vehicle of the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona fleet during the 1980s.

It evolved from the Pegaso 6035 with more modern bodywork and was acquired by many cities throughout Spain.

The vehicle is currently being restored with the aim of returning it to the best possible condition and enabling it to operate normally again.

The Pegaso 6038 is therefore currently out of service.

From the moment TMB introduced the first Pegaso 6038 in 1979 —prototype 6000— the model was an outstanding success and became popular throughout Spain. It succeeded the Pegaso 6035, sharing its Monotral monocoque structure and mechanical layout.

TMB introduced 400 examples between February 1980 and November 1983 in series 6000–6262, 7000–7111 and 7300–7324. ARCA’s preserved vehicle was delivered around September 1981 and entered service a month later on routes 36, 41, 47 and 51.

Fleet number 6158 had a Wilson manual gearbox and Irizar bodywork. Several coachbuilders supplied the new buses —Irizar, Ugarte, Noge and Van Hool— but clear coachbuilder-based subseries cannot be identified because vehicles were delivered individually or in small groups.

TMB 6158 spent most of its working life at Llevant depot. It emerged from a general overhaul and repaint in a new colour scheme around 9 March 1990, after which it moved to Ponent depot and remained there until withdrawal.

In 1996 it was sold to the Creu Coberta Retailers’ Association. It arrived overhauled and repainted for use on commercial promotional work and association excursions.

It remained in service until 2007 and underwent several changes: seats were removed and tables, benches and other fittings were installed. Outside, it was painted white and covered in full advertising. It retained this appearance until June 2005, when bodywork repairs and a repaint introduced colours similar to TMB’s 1990s scheme.

That intervention was superficial. By 2006 rust and impact damage covered much of the structure, leaving the bus visually unsuitable for its promotional purpose.

In late 2007 the Retailers’ Association reconsidered the bus service while a group of ARCA members offered to preserve it. An agreement signed on 29 February 2008 established cooperation between ARCA and the Creu Coberta Retailers’ Association: ARCA would provide the services previously operated by the Pegaso, while the association donated the vehicle for restoration as a historic bus, retaining Creu Coberta advertising inscriptions.