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 takes part in 1st PAE 3040 Forum

Josep María Martí, Managing Director of Moventia and Deputy Chairman of Moventis, attended the 1st PAE 3040 Forum organised by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Catalan Industrial Estates Union (UPIC). This recent event sought to analyse the transformative and innovative capability of Economic Activity Industrial Estates (PAE in Spanish).

The event, which discussed the future of industrial estates and their economic activity in Catalonia, produced some highly enriching results and debated various perspectives on key current affairs in this sector, such as Cofactoring, connectivity, sustainability and the importance of cross-cutting technology solutions.

In this regard, Josep Maria Martí took part in a round table discussion on innovation where he shared the various mobility options that Moventia offers to PAE and that seek to improve travel services for employees of companies based in these areas through such solutions as on-demand buses with the Moventis Empresa app.

This debate also benefited from opinions expressed by the experts Mercè Conesa, Director of INCASÒL (Catalan Institute of the Sun) and Board Member at ODEE (Observatori de la Dona Empresa Economia); Santi Macià, an officer from the Productive Fabric Service of Barcelona Provincial Council; and Vicenç Iglesias, Managing Director of MODI.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Moventia and TRAM renew their commitment to Sant Joan de Déu

Moventia and TRAM have renewed their support for the project aimed at providing easier access to mobility for the homeless people being helped by Sant Joan de Déu Servicios Sociales – Barcelona. This partnership, which is one of the projects being organised by the two businesses as socially responsible companies, represents a contribution of 60,000 euros per year towards providing easier access to public transport for the people supported by various social service programmes run by the organisation.

 

The project seeks to offer free access to public transport in the city of Barcelona and surrounding areas for the homeless people being looked after by the various direct support programmes run by Sant Joan de Déu Servicios Sociales – Barcelona so they can attend their training, employment or job search activities, medical appointments, regain their network of social and family relationships, engage in socialisation support activities (including leisure and cultural activities) and any other type of procedure or activity coordinated with the social workers of Sant Joan de Déu to help them take back control of their life.

 

Mobility is one of the key aspects that are essential in combating social exclusion. The programme launched by Sant Joan de Déu with support from Moventia and TRAM helps to reduce this inequality – a problem encountered by many people – by facilitating travel on public transport. Moventia has adopted a clear commitment to people in this regard and beyond its employees, users and customers. In line with UN SDG 17 ‘Partnerships for the Goals’, Moventia and TRAM develop in-house programmes and, as is the case on this occasion, partner with non-profit entities and foundations to promote a better society and contribute towards improving quality of life for the most vulnerable.

 

The funding received has already impacted the lives of more than 2,200 people over the five years of this partnership, all of them men and women aged between 18 and 65 supported by Sant Joan de Déu Servicios Sociales – Barcelona on the programmes it runs in the city. In addition, and in response to the COVID-19 situation, part of the contribution in 2021 was used on a line of financial aid to make rent payments on behalf of vulnerable households in order to prevent them from potentially losing their homes.

 

                           

Public transport, a tool for inclusion   

The partnership renewal event was attended by the Corporate Deputy Chairwoman for Internal and Institutional Communication of Moventia, Sílvia Martí; the General Manager of TRAM, Humberto López Vilalta; the Director of Sant Joan de Déu Servicios Sociales – Barcelona, Salvador Maneu; and the Director of Obra Social Sant Joan de Déu, Oriol Bota.

 

During the conversation, public transport was highlighted as an essential tool that enables people to engage in daily life, such as studying, working or maintaining a social network, and is especially important for those homeless people needing to access various public resources throughout the city of Barcelona and its metropolitan area. Furthermore, access to transportation allows them to enjoy additional activities that directly impact their recovery because they strengthen social and community ties.

 

The meeting was also an opportunity for these representatives from the two companies to visit the new dentistry clinic for people with no financial resources that is jointly managed by SJD Servicios Sociales Barcelona and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona, and funded by Barcelona City Council and internal funding from Sant Joan de Déu.

The gas refuelling station used by the TIB fleet in Calvià opens to the public

The Mobility and Housing Councillor, Josep Marí, together with the Mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez, the Director-General for Mobility and Terrestrial Transportation, Jaume Mateu, and the Managing Director of the Mallorca Transport Consortium, Maarten Johannes van Bemmelen, officially opened the gas refuelling station used by the TIB fleet in Calvià (Mallorca, Balearic Islands) to the public earlier today.

The Managing Director of Moventia, Josep Maria Martí, and other representatives from the company managing the gas refuelling station, as well as the new intercity public transport concession for the western region since the start of the year, also attended the event.

Located at the TIB depot on the Son Bugadelles industrial estate, the gas refuelling station has been supplying compressed natural gas (CNG) to the 50-strong TIB bus fleet owned by Moventis since January. From today, it will also be open to the public for the CNG refuelling of private cars, trucks, coaches and vans.

The Mayor of Calvià expressed gratitude for the Council’s support and its sensitivity to public transport in Calvià. “By opening this gas refuelling station to the public”, he said, “we are taking another step towards reducing our environmental impact and highlighting the commitment from Moventis to making it easier for the public to use this infrastructure”.

The Managing Director of Moventia, Josep Maria Martí, said that, “from today, anyone with a gas-powered vehicle will be able to fill their tank at this refuelling station. This is a clear step forward in making it easier for drivers and in promoting the purchase of this type of vehicle, in short, in achieving more sustainable mobility”.

In turn, the Mobility and Housing Councillor said that “we are very happy to be able to bring this infrastructure to the entire population. We need to maintain progress on the energy transition, and this is another step in that process”.

The gas refuelling station offers a rapid refuelling service for compressed natural gas and has two supply lanes with NGV1 and NGV2 pumps. It is a self-service facility for which card payment is required. The public opening times are: Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 20:00 and Saturdays from 08:00 to 14:00.

Redexis, a company operating in the energy sector, was responsible for building the gas refuelling station and for laying the gas pipeline branches. The TIB fleet has other gas refuelling stations in Felanitx, Artà, Alcúdia and Inca. Those facilities are used to refuel buses and vehicles owned by the TIB operators. The companies are currently studying the possibility of offering the service to other groups.

CNG is a real alternative to oil-based fuels as it reduces CO2 emissions by 30% and NOx emissions by up to 75%. Furthermore, it eliminates exhaust pipe particulate emissions and practically all sulphur oxide emissions. Its use helps to improve environmental quality in cities and represents a commitment to an environmentally sustainable transport model. The demand for these vehicles continues to grow: according to data from the Gasnam association, the registration of new CNG vehicles rose by 167% in January and February of 2020 when compared with the same months in the previous year to a total of 1,635 new units on the road.

Moventia Welcomes Ms Mercè Rius from the Generalitat de Catalunya

We were recently visited by Ms Mercè Rius, Director General of Transport and Mobility, along with Mr Josep Maria Fortuny, Deputy Director General of Transport Planning and Sector Development, both from the Generalitat de Catalunya government.

The visit was divided into two parts, the first of which took place at the Moventia corporate office in the city of Sant Cugat del Vallès, where they were able to observe first-hand how the Moventia corporate team has been organized ever since it moved to the new Moventia site in 2019. The visitors saw and evaluated the company’s flexible cross systems in addition to the state-of-the-art technology supporting them. They also had the opportunity to find out about the different areas related to the passenger transport division, Moventis. Those responsible for corporate tasks were able to explain their various projects and responsibilities to the Director General as well as how they are working to adapt to the crisis caused by the pandemic and focusing on enhancing rolling stock to offer more sustainable services. 

The second part was a visit to the new garage Moventis recently opened in Sabadell. This base, which is used by Sarbus and La Vallesana, has the capacity to house 170 buses, a car wash and a fuel supply area. The more than 23,700 m2 in Sant Pau de Riu-sec (Pausec) is home to three business divisions (Sarbus-La Vallesana, Vallès de Automoción and Stern Motor) in order to provide fast, quality integrated sales and after-sales services with commercial vehicles, vans and industrial transport.

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.

Sant Cugat Empresarial Presents its Strategy to the Town Council

During an institutional visit, the Mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès, Mireia Ingla, welcomed a representative group of the Sant Cugat Empresarial board of which Silvia Martí has been a member since last June. Also present at the event was the Deputy Mayor for Economic Promotion, Employment, Business and Commerce, Elena Vila.

During the meeting, the highest-ranking member of Sant Cugat Empresarial, Jaume Vives, Chairman and Managing Director of Roche Diagnòstics, told the Mayor of Sant Cugat about the association’s main strategic lines for the next three years. A decision was made to create a mixed commission to monitor various urban development, economic and business invigoration issues.

Moventia is a part of Sant Cugat Empresarial with the aim of working together with other companies in the area to generate more and better economic development for local businesses, support and mentor local entrepreneurs and start-ups, foster corporate social responsibility activities among associated companies and establish forward-looking ties between schools, universities and businesses.

 

picture: Sant Cugat Empresarial