Moventis wins contract to manage intercity buses in Saudi Arabia

Moventia, a family-run multi-national company specialising in the mobility sector, has been awarded a tender to manage intercity buses in Saudi Arabia for the next ten years. More specifically, the company (which is celebrating its centenary in 2023) has been given one of three lots in the contract governing this service in the north-west of the country valued at more than 500 million euros. The new project will be operated by Moventis, the public transport division of Moventia, as part of a consortium with Al Qaid, a Saudi bus company. The transport network consists of 23 lines and an estimated 1.5 million passengers per year, with a hub located in Jeddah covering the entire Red Sea corridor as well as branches that head inland for connections to other cities, including Mecca, Medina and Riyadh.

The project will be launched in September of this year, for which the consortium will purchase 150 12-metre buses and all the technology needed for sales and operation. It will also include the management of six bus stations, eight bus depots and nearly 100 bus stations in several cities. The team working on this project will consist of 500 people from a number of different countries.

Jordi Castells, the Managing Director of Moventis B2B and head of the division for Saudi Arabia, said “with this new project, Moventia continues to make progress on its growth strategy in Saudi Arabia, where our knowledge in the sector and excellent relations with the local authorities and our local partners mean that we are consolidating our presence and actively contributing to the development of the passenger transport sector in the country”.

In 2017, Moventia was given its first contract in Saudi Arabia to operate the urban transport service in Mecca. Following an initial five-year period in which the company completed the roll-out process (bus manufacture, the implementation of on-board technology, employee recruitment and depot construction; including garages, control centres, offices and employee housing), service operation successfully began in 2022. This service has led to mobility improvements for not only the inhabitants of Mecca but also the millions of pilgrims who travel to this city every year. With operations fully up and running now, Moventis has a workforce of 1,200 employees, 12 bus lines and 400 vehicles in the country, with which it successfully carried more than 25 million passengers in 2022.

It should also be noted that these concession contracts form part of a Saudi nationalisation plan embodied in its ‘Vision 2030’ strategy. This roadmap seeks to diversify business activity in the country beyond oil production and to boost such sectors as finance or industry with a view to becoming an international tourist destination.  

 

 

International strategy

Moventia is a benchmark multi-national company in the mobility sector that is focused on growth and internationalisation. It began a process of expansion in 2016 through a public bicycle service in Helsinki. Seven years later, it now operates on three continents (Europe, Asia and America) through various public transport services. 

Under this international expansion strategy, France has consolidated itself as a significant market for Moventia alongside Saudi Arabia. In 2017, the company won a contract to manage the urban, intercity and school bus service in the Montbéliard region and, in 2022, it was given another contract to manage the urban and school bus service in the Pays de Grasse agglomeration community in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France (PACA).

 

 

The TUC night service extends its service on Thursdays until 4:00 a.m.

As of next Thursday, January 12, the night service of Regional Urban Transport will be provided every Thursday until approximately 4:00 a.m., depending on the specific schedule of each line.

Until now, the service carried out by the ten night lines ended on Thursdays around 00:00. The reason for the extension of the service is the notable increase in the mobility needs of users of Urban Transport during Thursday nights.

This change means that both Thursday and Friday nights, the night service will end at approximately the same time, with the exception of those days that are the eve of a holiday.

On the occasion of the extension of night transport hours on Thursday nights, the Commonwealth of the Region of Pamplona will carry out a campaign aimed at young people this week. The campaign will include the placement of informative hangers in the villavesas and the issuance of radio spots.

This campaign will also highlight the advantages of the on-demand stop service aimed at women travelling alone or in a group, which has been operating on all TUC night lines since September last year.

Complete information on the TUC service can be found on the Urban Transport website (www.infotuc.es) and on the Tu Villavesa app.

The MCP launches a campaign to encourage the use of regional urban transport

 

The Commonwealth of the Region of Pamplona (Mancomunidad de la Comarca de Pamplona in spanish) will develop a communication campaign over the next two weeks to promote the use of Regional Urban Transport, focusing especially on the young public and on-demand stop service for women. Starting on Monday, November 13, and under the slogan “Get on the villavesa!”, the campaign will highlight the advantages of this sustainable, accessible and safe mode of transport.

From the point of view of sustainability, it must be remembered that 45% of the Regional Urban Transport fleet has ECO certification and 13 new villavesas that move with gas from renewable sources have recently been incorporated. In 2021, according to the latest balance made by the MCP, the Carbon Footprint of the service was reduced by almost 2,000 tons of CO2 equivalent, which represents significant progress for the entity in its objective to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

On the other hand, the campaign highlights the accessibility of the TUC, since it is a cheap and easy-to-use means of transport. The buses are prepared for access by people with reduced mobility and for the use of wheelchairs. In addition, the TUC service is more accessible thanks to the different modalities and payment systems.

Thirdly, the safety of the service is underlined, making special mention of the intermediate stop service on demand on all night service lines: a measure aimed at increasing the safety of women travelling alone or in a group.

 

THE BANK CARD AS A NEW FORM OF PAYMENT
As the main novelty, the single TUC ticket can now be paid with a bank card. In this way, those people who occasionally use the service, do not have a transport card at that time, do not have a balance on said card or are on a tourist or professional visit, can now pay for the single ticket with their physical bank card or with the virtual card enabled on the mobile.

On the other hand, the advantages of the personalized card with 30-day pass that allows you to make as many trips as needed during a period of 30 days in three modalities: general, youth and large family. Finally, reference is made to the Tu Villavesa app that allows you to check the timetables and occupancy of the villavesas on all lines and stops in real time.

THREE GROUPS OF USERS
The campaign will be oriented towards three types of groups –general, young people and women– and will be disseminated through different media and supports: radio spots, brochures and hangers in villavesas, posters on canopies and signage in villavesas and taxis. In addition, awareness-raising activities will be carried out at the universities located in Pamplona. Finally, when disseminating the content related to the on-demand stops for women, the collaboration of town halls and women’s groups in the region has been requested.

Linked to this content, it should be noted that the taxi service in the Pamplona Region will also be present in the communication actions. Thus, for two months, 40 taxis will display on the outside of the vehicle messages addressed to the women users of the service with the following message: “Come back safely. This taxi waits for you to enter the portal”.

Moventis Illes promotes job placement in Mallorca with subsidies for students who take the initial CAP for travellers

 

Moventis Illes, concessionaire of interurban public transport of the TIB network in Mallorca, has signed a collaboration agreement with driving schools in the territory where its service operates. The agreement is valid for one year and will be automatically renewed to add more years of commitment to Mallorcan society.

This new project promoted by the company aims to promote job placement. The division based in Mallorca of the Moventia group will grant a subsidy for students of the CAP course (Professional Aptitude Course) who are interested in accessing job offers from the transport operator.

During the course, the staff of the Moventis team will publicize the company and present the contract offer to the students. The opportunity will have a prior selection process through individual interviews, followed by a driving test, which will serve to assess the aptitudes of each candidate for the position, and, finally, the notification of the incorporation to the company to the candidates who have been selected.

Obtaining the grant will be delivered gradually during the first professional stage at Moventis Illes.

This initiative demonstrates the Moventia group’s commitment to society. The expert company in sustainable mobility reinforces its proposal of opportunities with the mission of promoting the labour sector.

Moventis Illes, a key player in the recovery of public transport in the Balearic Islands in 2022

 

Moventis Illes, concessionaire of the public interurban transport service of the TIB de Mallorca network, has become a fundamental element in promoting public transport in the Balearic Islands during the past 2022.

In general terms, a total of 15 million bus users chose interurban public transport (TIB) to move around Mallorca during the past financial year, which has meant an increase of 44% compared to the year 2019. These figures show that Mallorca, also thanks to the activity of Moventis Illes, has managed to recover pre-pandemic levels, according to data provided by the Ministry of Mobility and Housing of the Balearic Government.

This increase in demand over the last year coincides with the measures promoted by the regional executive throughout the urban and interurban public transport network, such as the increase in bus line frequencies and the expansion of services during summer of the territory. The free vouchers and discounts on Mallorca’s public transport have also contributed to this extraordinary result, which have resulted in a 70% discount on the EMT and TIB bus network, among other means of transport.

With a view to 2023, the Government hopes to continue this positive trend thanks to the free service for users who have the Intermodal Card, valid on all the lines operated by Moventis Illes.

Moventia reaches 25 million passengers in Mecca

Moventia carried 25.6 million passengers in Mecca (Saudi Arabia) in 2022. This was achieved via its urban bus service, which provided mobility services to the inhabitants of Mecca and the millions of pilgrims who travel to the city every year.

On this first incursion into the Saudi market, the service has been rolled out through the Moventis subsidiary, TCC, alongside a consortium of Spanish and Saudi companies.

The operation, which required an investment of 250 million euros from the consortium, was partially launched in February 2022 and has been fully up and running since October of the same year. With 12 lines and 438 stops, the service has experienced constant passenger growth and eventually carried 200,000 passengers/day in December.

After completing the roll-out stage (bus manufacture, the implementation of on-board technology, employee recruitment and depot construction; including garages, control centres, offices and employee housing), we are now busy with the operation and maintenance stage, which will continue until 2030.

The company owned by Moventia in Saudi Arabia and that has 400 vehicles in the region, known as Makkah Buses (240 standard 12-metre buses and 160 articulated 18-metre buses), has given jobs to more than 1,200 people from several different countries, 25% of them Saudis. This falls in line with the Saudi nationalisation plan, which has been enshrined in the Vision 2030 strategic plan, a roadmap that seeks to harness the strengths of Saudi Arabia to improve international trade and its investment power.

Another of the milestones reached under the operation in Mecca is the inclusion of women in the team. We have successfully integrated the female sector into the offices, the control centre, the training department and customer support service. This is another major factor that forms part of the goals set by the country.

Jordi Castells, Managing Director of Moventis, said that “our goal was to create an urban transport service in Saudi Arabia that meets the high quality standards set by Moventis. There is no doubt that the growing number of passengers that we carry every day and the excellent passenger satisfaction levels confirm we have achieved that goal. Following the success of this first project in Saudi Arabia, Moventis is ready and excited to embark on new contracts in the country as a partner that can help achieve its 2030 Vision”. 

 

In turn, the CEO of the Royal Commission for Makkah and Holy Sites, Saleh bin Ibrahim Al-Rasheed, stressed to the Saudi media that the increase in bus use surpassed expectations for 2022. He went on to add that the authorities will get involved in the next stage, aimed at adapting the technology, in order to provide a unique experience capable of meeting the needs of residents and visitors to the city and its temples. 

 

Moventis Sarfa, awarded as Regular Transport Company of the Year

Moventis Sarfa has received the Company of the Year award, in the Regular Transport category, from the prestigious Autobuses y Autocares magazine.

The reference publication in passenger transport presented the award at the XXXI edition of the Las Empresas del Año awards, held on December 20 at the IFEMA pavilions in Madrid. Juan Giménez, CEO of Moventis Regular, was in charge of collecting the recognition on behalf of the company belonging to the Moventia group.

During the award ceremony, Autobuses y Autocares also presented a special issue of the magazine dedicated to the winning companies. The publication highlighted the merits and initiatives implemented by the awarded operators.

The Las Empresas del Año awards have been given since 1992 and represent an ovation for the work carried out by different companies at the state level dedicated to passenger transport in different categories: road, discretionary and urban.

The general director of Moventis Regular, Juan Giménez, has positively assessed the award: “This award recognizes the work that all the professionals who work at Moventis Sarfa carry out every day, and its objective is none other than to offer all our users in Girona a service with the highest standards of quality and safety. We want to thank Autobuses y Autocares magazine for granting us this award. It is a privilege to receive a distinction from a benchmark in the information of our sector.”

Moventis Sarfa wanted to thank Autobuses y Autocares for the important recognition and the entities and users who, day by day, accompany the company and encourage it to continue guaranteeing the best mobility experience for people.

Moventia participates in the Congress of Municipal Engineers 2022

Júlia Gilavert, Manager of Moventis SARBUS, participated this Tuesday, November 29, in the 2022 Congress of Municipal Engineers, which was held virtually.

The event, promoted by the Col·legi d’Enginyers Civils and aimed at engineering professionals who carry out their activity locally, received the expert from the Moventia group in a session called “New mobility”.

During his speech, Gilavert presented the success story of the on-demand public transport service operated by Moventis in the municipality of Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona).

The company representative explained how the three-line service works, in which users request the trip they want to make, through the telephone platform or the digital application (Shotl). At this point, the Moventis SARBUS Manager argued that, as a result of Covid-19, the company carried out a user awareness campaign to teach them how to use the application, and that, since then, the number of telephone reservations has potentially decreased, reducing the technological gap of the population.

Júlia Gilavert determined that this service has been a “success story” for Moventis, since after the pandemic the on-demand lines were the “first to recover in the return to normality”. The expert attributed this result to the fact that users saw it as an “opportunity to travel by public transport in a much less massive way.”

Given the conclusions of the service, the representative of Moventis argued that the on-demand service is a “very necessary consolidated service” that, “if it is well operated and organized, it works”.

Participation in the 2022 Congress of Municipal Engineers was a good projection opportunity for the company. Moventia, like the other speakers, had a virtual stand where users could access the most relevant information on the company.

Moventia participates in the IESE dialogues

This Monday, November 21, Moventia has participated in the opening day of the Barcelona Mobility Dialogues of IESE Business School, which has been called Public transport: buses.

 

Representatives of the Moventia group’s public passenger transport division, such as Elena Aguarta – Regulatory Affairs-, attended the presentation as experts in the industry.

 

The colloquium was held within the framework of the collaboration of the graduate school in business management of the University of Navarra (IESE) with the Mobility and Infrastructure Management of Barcelona City Council.

 

Public transport: buses has been part of an eight-session program that is carried out during the 2022-2023 academic year and that aims to give a comprehensive and updated vision of mobility in the metropolitan region of Barcelona.

 

During the dialogue, the future of this means of transport was discussed and about the environmentally ethical alternatives that will be applied in the coming years with the aim of promoting a 100% sustainable service, objectives that Moventia shares.

Moventia in Pays de Grasse

Moventia has been awarded the contract to manage the urban transport service in the agglomeration community (a French government structure) of Pays de Grasse, in the region of Provence.
For a scheduled duration of 10 years, transport services will be provided under this concession to a conurbation inhabited by a little over 100,000 people. The concession will begin on 1 January 2023, when Moventia – a member of the Railway and Public Transport Syndicate of France – will manage all urban and intercity transport lines in the Pays de Grasse area through its subsidiary, Moventis. The company will also make school bus services available to all as a way to improve its service throughout the region. 
A fleet of 70 buses and microbuses will be used to meet demand, most of which were made in France by the Iveco brand. A number of electric vehicles are expected to join this fleet over the course of the concession to cover part of the service. Screens will also be installed to digitalise the information offered at bus stops and terminals, and solar panels will be installed to power those screens. 

The new network will also include a shuttle service from the city centre and a new line within the Bus with a High Level of Service (Buzo à Haut Niveau de Service) to boost capacity and regularity on this service. 
Finally, the concession also includes the construction of a new logistics platform for Grasse by 2025, with a capacity for some 100 buses. The new depot, which will have two levels above ground and two more below ground, will be built according to the environmental quality and sustainability guidelines for Bâtiments Durables Méditerranéens (BDM, or Mediterranean Sustainable Buildings). Moventis has now consolidated itself as a real alternative to the traditional French transport groups. 
The offer from Moventia in France will also include a new bicycle service to be launched in Marseille in December 2022. This service will consist of 2,000 electric, smart and connected bicycles. The bicycles will serve as their own docking station and charging platform. The system will also include a total of 200 fixed docking stations to provide an innovative hybrid solution for the French municipality.

The social commitment from the company seeks to create strong ties with its employees in order to achieve constructive and shared social dialogue, thereby becoming more competitive. As a member of the European Women in Transport platform, Moventia will also fight to guarantee gender equality and safety in the workplace as it continues to establish itself in France. 
Miquel Martí, CEO of Moventia, described the confidence placed in the company by the authorities of Pays de Grasse as “very positive”. “We would like to thank Pays de Grasse for its confidence in us. We will make every effort to provide the best possible service, to innovate and to remain loyal to our passengers and users. This company strives to offer quality transport for all”, he said. 

 

The Pays de Grasse urban and intercity transport concession is the second obtained by Moventia in France. The company has been managing the urban, intercity and school bus service in Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération, an agglomeration community in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region on the border with Switzerland, since 2017.
Through the Smovengo consortium, Moventia was also officially awarded the contract to manage Vélib in France in 2017, the public bicycle loan service in the metropolitan region of Paris. Four years later, in Clermont Ferrand, the company added another bicycle service to its portfolio with Inurba.

Photo: Jérôme Viaud, Aglomeración de Grasse president and Miquel Marti, Moventia’s CEO