Catalina García González

Catalina García González (1888–1959) was a Spanish woman who was the first woman in Spain to obtain a driving licence in 1925, as well as the country's first female bus driver. She went on to establish the first bus line between Cofiñal and Boñar, which she had initially established in 1908 using a horse-drawn carriage.

Biography García González was born in 1888 in Puebla de Lillo, León. She was the youngest of four children born to Baltasar García, a civil guard from Rioseco de Tapia, and Juliana González, a housewife from Puebla de Lillo.

In 1902, at the age of 14, García González began working for her family, using a horse to unload shipments of trout to be transported from La Robla to Madrid. In 1925, García González became the first woman in Spain to obtain a driving licence. At that time, women required permission from their husbands, as well as a certificate of good conduct from the mayor of their town of residence, in order to request a licence, following a royal decree issued in 1918.

In 1935, García González's bus line company was visited by representatives from the Ministry of Finance, which authorised that it was compliant with regulations, which granted García González the right to receive monthly payments from stamps on tickets and concessions.

In 1958, García González sold her bus company to Francisco López Alba. Following this, locals were reported to still refer to the bus as "el bus de Catalina" .

Isaías Lafuente described García González as bringing progress to women's rights, particularly in eastern León where she lived and worked, due to her prominence as a local businesswoman who operated both the local bus line and a popular inn.

The city of León has proposed renaming a street in tribute to García González.