Sarfa recognised by Palamós Chamber of Commerce on its centenary

Moventis Sarfa is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2021, having become an important symbol of public transport throughout Catalonia and especially in Gerona. This milestone did not pass unnoticed by some of the major organisations and authorities in Gerona, such as the Palamós Chamber of Commerce and Begur Local Council.

 

At the 14th Begur Economic Affairs Debate, promoted by the two entities and recently held at the Aiguablava Parador Hotel, Miquel Martí, Chairman of Moventia, received an award from the President of the Palamós Chamber of Commerce, Pol Fages, and the Mayor of Begur, Maite Selva, in recognition of the century-long track record behind Moventis Sarfa.

 

The Chairman of Moventia, Miquel Martí, said “we are very happy to have a century-old company like Moventis Sarfa in our group, one with a successful history that inspires us all to keep working so hard to offer the very best public mobility experience”. He went on to add that “this award recognises all those people who have made it possible for Moventis Sarfa to become the great company it is today. I can do no more than express my sincerest gratitude to all of them, and specifically to Enric Gimeno – General Manager of Sarfa – and everyone in his team who make it all possible, as well as to the Palamós Chamber of Commerce and Begur Local Council for inviting us to this event and giving us this award”.

 

The Chairman of Moventia and its Managing Director, Josep Maria Martí, with the General Manager of Sarfa, Enric Gimeno, attended the Begur Economic Affairs Debate organised by the Palamós Chamber of Commerce. This year, the event featured a highly renowned speaker – the economist and professor of economic affairs from Columbia University, Xavier Sala y Martín, who opened proceedings with a talk entitled “The Economy of the 20s”. The event also gathered other executives from local institutions and authorities.

 

Photo (from left to right): Josep Maria Martí, Managing Director of Moventia and Deputy Chairman of Moventis; Silvia Martí, Deputy Chairwoman for Corporate Affairs, Internal Communication and Institutional Relations of Moventia; Maite Selva, Mayor of Begur; Pol Fages, President of the Palamós Chamber of Commerce; Miquel Martí, Chairman of Moventia; and Enric Gimeno, General Manager of Sarfa

 

Moventia at the Tomorrow Mobility World Congress

 Tomorrow.Mobility is a global event for promoting the future of mobility. As part of the Smart City Expo World Congress that began yesterday in Barcelona, this new event – jointly organised by Fira de Barcelona and EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, a body of the European Union – was unveiled to society. The event is also supported by major institutions and companies in the mobility sector, including Moventia. Tomorrow.Mobility seeks to become a global benchmark in mobility and to grow beyond an isolated event as it will have an online knowledge platform that remains active throughout the year and an innovation hub for gathering the top players in the industry. Miquel Martí Escursell, Chairman of Moventia, has formed part of the Advisory Board that manages this debate and knowledge platform about the future of mobility since it was first set up and attended the event opening yesterday.

The Smart City Expo World Congress is a globally leading event on smart cities. Its partners include EIT Urban Mobility, the largest European initiative for transforming urban mobility created by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. It is also receiving initial support from over 100 companies and entities, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, United Nations, Microsoft, Mastercard, ADP (Airports of Paris), the International Association of Ports, the Port of Barcelona, Moventia, RACC and Social Car.

Tomorrow.Mobility is an evolution of the Smart Mobility Congress, the event focused on smart intercity and urban mobility that has been taking place alongside the Smart City Expo World Congress since 2016. Tomorrow.Mobility will tackle such issues as micro mobility (electric scooters, bicycles), public transport, mobility service providers (car sharing, aero taxis), the automotive industry (electric, connected and autonomous cars), last-mile logistics (e-commerce deliveries, delivery drones), smart infrastructures (fleet management, geopositioning and payment systems), the energy transition and efficiency, and digitalisation. It exists in response to the questions surrounding what mobility should be like in cities of the future with smart and sustainable transport systems, and builds an innovation network for urban mobility at a global level capable of encouraging innovation and its transformation towards a more sustainable form of mobility.

The event will take place at the Gran Via venue in Barcelona from 16 to 18 November

 

 

 

 

Julia Gilavert Participates in the International Mobility Congress

With the slogan “Drive into Innovation”, the first edition of the International Mobility Congress was held on 21st and 22nd September. Over the two days, 70 speakers discussed global success stories and debated the future of mobility. Nearly 800 professionals attended the event with 30% of them connected via streaming.

Julia Gilavert, Director of Moventis Illes, participated along with Mario Canet, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and Antonio Cendrero, Arriva Spain, in the roundtable “Low-Emissions Buses. Enhanced Energy Efficiency and User Experience” during which the usage experience and advantages of the different energy models, including electric, hydrogen and gas, were debated. Julia underlined the virtues of #CompressedNaturalGas in comparison to other existing models. The three participants concluded that the future is uncertain and, in all likelihood, the three energy models will eventually live together.

Moventia Helps Train Drivers

As it has done in previous years, Moventia has once again used a subsidy from the Catalan Occupation Service to promote training courses for the comprehensive qualification of new public transport professionals as part of our commitment to CSR and equal opportunities.

A total of four courses were run in 2021: two in Sant Cugat, one in Mataró and another in Sabadell, the latter in partnership with the Sabadell Town Council.

A total of 60 new professionals have completed or will complete their training shortly in preparation for the D and initial CAP driving tests. Moventis will offer jobs at companies within the group to at least 40% of the students who pass these tests.

We look forward to welcoming them into the team.

Moventis Group’s Autocares Emilio Seco Invests 4 Million Euros in its All-New Hybrid Fleet

  • With this investment, the Moventis discretionary services company has renewed 65% of its fleet transforming 25 coaches to compressed natural gas with the ECO seal.
  • Autocares Emilio Seco is also starting this second half of the year having renewed its agreement with the Balearic Islands Regional Department of Education to provide school transport services. Likewise, it has signed new contracts as a school and handicapped mobility and transport operator on Majorca.
  • The company has unveiled its new more modern and dynamic corporate identity which was inspired by the concept of connectivity and reflects its 50 years of experience in the sector.

 

Barcelona, September 2021. Autocares Emilio Seco, the Moventis discretionary services company on Majorca, is starting off the second half of 2021 at full speed. The company has become an even stronger sector reference in sustainable mobility after investing 4 million euros into renovating and reconverting its fleet of coaches to make them sustainable.

This investment was used by Autocares Emilio Seco to add 25 compressed natural gas (CNG) hybrid models with the ECO seal. The operation boosted the transformation of its fleet, which is currently comprised of 65% CNG models with the ECO seal, as well as a company action under its commitment to reduce its impact on the environment. This is also a priority goal for the Moventis group which includes Autocares Emilio Seco.

In fact, nearly 50% of the Moventis fleet of buses, coaches, tramways and bikes has been converted into electric, hybrid and natural gas or diesel models that comply with the Euro VI regulation, which is the most recent and restrictive when it comes to reducing contaminating emissions.

Trust in a Company with 50 Years of Experience in the Sector

Autocares Emilio Seco is fully consolidated as a reference in mobility and transport on the Balearic Islands and more specifically on Majorca. Its 50 years of success have earned it the trust of local users and entities who enjoy its services daily.

Thus, the company was able to renew its contract to provide the transport services it had been providing to the Balearic Islands Regional Department of Education. Specifically, it operates 60 routes moving 3,000 boys and girls every day and has done so for 4 years. Added to this are two additional adapted transport services which position Autocares Emilio Seco as the main school and PRM transport operator on the island of Majorca.

The company also recently signed a contract with the Town Hall of Calviá (Majorca) to operate discretionary transport services in that town. These services are for certain groups of residents in the municipality of Calviá such as the elderly, school cultural excursions as well as specific services for people with reduced mobility.

Finally, Autocares Emilio Seco also began school services in September for the Town of Calviá sailing school centres.

Miquel Martí Pierre, Managing Director of Moventis Discretionary Services, said, “A commitment to innovation, excellent service and the environment is in the Moventis DNA. It’s a commitment that moves us to work every single day with all of the group’s companies in order to turn it into a reality. In the case of Autocares Emilio Seco, it’s a step forward as the collective transport leader on Majorca.”

He also said, “The renewed and new contracts for Majorca back our good work and push us to continue working in this strategic line of technology and sustainability.”  

A New Corporate Identity as the Symbol of Evolution and Service Excellence

After 50 years, Autocares Emilio Seco now has an all-new more modern and dynamic corporate image with a new logo inspired by the concept of connectivity in conjunction with the idea that mobility connects us. It is also a reflection of the company’s evolution and professionalism in the services it offers customers.

Thus, all Autocares Emilio Seco vehicles and professionals will now sport this new corporate identity which represents the beginning of a new era for the company with its commitment to excellent services and the environment.

In the words of Emilio Seco, Manager of Autocares Emilio Seco, “We’re quite pleased to start this final leg of 2021 with these great new developments considering it’s been a really complicated year for us and the entire sector in general. At Emilio Seco, we have always been close to our customers with a desire to meet their mobility needs by developing innovative environmentally-friendly transport solutions.” He added, “We’re proud to see just how far we’ve got in the last half century and will continue working day after day to ensure our customers can enjoy the best in mobility.”

Moventis Stands Out as a Transport Operator for Various Entities

A number of service contracts have been signed recently deriving from public tenders awarded to Moventis group companies in Catalonia.

Thus, Moventis will operate school transport services for the district Consejo Comarcal del Vallès Occidental through its companies Izaro and Calella, handling the local primary and secondary school routes on a 5-year contract which once again positions the group in the region as the leader in collective transport just as it historically has been. Along the same lines, a contract has also been signed with the district Consejo Comarcal del Gironès, under which Izaro and SARFA will manage some transport services.

Also in the school transport business, the contract with the district Consejo Comarcal del Baix Llobregat has been renewed so that the same services it has been offering will continue in addition to others which Izaro will operate along with TCC.

In the field of sports, four of the major Catalan clubs: Girona Fútbol Club and C. E. Sabadell, Básquet Girona and Unió Esportiva Costa Brava, have placed their trust in the Moventis Group as Autocares Calella will handle the athletes’ travel throughout the championship.

What’s more, Moventis will continue accompanying the Symphonic Orchestra of El Vallès for all of its travel throughout the territory, thereby reaffirming the commitment to support culture as is evident after having been awarded the Entity Committed to Culture Seal from the Catalonia Culture Foundation in collaboration with the Universitat de Girona Chair of Social Responsibility.

Other public entities have continued trusting in Moventis transport services for their personnel travel such as the Photonic Science Institute (ICFO), which has extended its service contract for the next 5 years. On the other hand, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) has also renewed its personnel transport service contract for another year. Both of these services are operated by Izaro.

Finally, the contract for the FGC Vallvidrera Cable Car replacement services was once again awarded to Izaro this summer.

It’s all no doubt thanks to the great work done by Moventia personnel.

CityBike Presents the New Stockholm Public Bicycle Service

CityBike Global chose VAIMOO as a strategic partner for the supply of electric bikes for this new public service in the Swedish capital which is expected to be one of the largest in Europe and the world.

CityBike Global, the leading micro-mobility company in Europe and Latin America, which belongs to Moventia Group, was awarded the public electric bike service in the city of Stockholm after signing an agreement with the city council to implement this new mode of transport throughout the city. The company is thus reinforcing its European presence and consolidating its international leadership in public shared bike services which are already being offered in cities like Helsinki, Paris and Lima.

For this new project, which is expected to be one of the largest in Europe and the world, CityBike Global chose VAIMOO as a strategic partner to supply the more than 5,100 smart electric bikes needed. Its experience supplying these types of models in other European biking mobility capital cities like Copenhagen, Rotterdam and in the United Kingdom, made it the best choice for City Bike Global for the provision of this service in Stockholm. In fact, the Stockholm e-bike is a version of the CES 2021 award-winning VAIMOO e-bike which has been specifically adapted to meet the city’s mobility needs.

The new e-bike sharing programme in the Swedish capital will equip the city with thousands of new efficient and sustainable vehicles considering this bike model’s recycled aluminium frame and fast large-capacity interchangeable battery. Available 24 hours a day all year long, the electric bikes will be connected to a flexible management system which can be integrated with those already existing to help decongest urban traffic. This flexible system can set up virtual stations where vehicles can be parked after each trip.

As stated by Jordi Cabañas, CEO of CityBike Global, “We’re proud to have been chosen by the city as a partner to operate this strategic service which will provide the citizens of Stockholm with an alternative active mobility choice. This new CityBike project reinforces our position as a European leader in public micro-mobility services.”

“This agreement takes VAIMOO electric bikes to another world biking capital,” said Matteo Pertosa, CEO and Founder of VAIMOO, adding, “The tie to CityBike Global in the Stockholm project is a source of great pride for me personally as well as for the entire VAIMOO team, which is continuously committed to designing and implementing public biking systems that can be easily integrated for alternative, sustainable and inclusive mobility.”

100 Years of Sarfa

Since 9th September, we’ve been celebrating another historical milestone for Moventia: 100 years of Moventis SARFA, one of the Moventia companies with the longest history. Thanks to all of our human resources, who work tirelessly day after day, SARFA has reached its one hundredth anniversary very strong as one of the most iconic institutions in El Empordà and a real symbol for public transport throughout Girona and Catalonia.

Congratulations to SARFA for a successful history that inspires us to keep on working to offer people the best mobility experience.

On the occasion of this great milestone, we’ve begun a series of actions to share the celebrations with our travelling community. These promotional actions will continue for the coming months and on a corporate level as well.