Vallirana: A small town with big mobility challenges
The Challenge
Life in Vallirana, a commuter town near Barcelona, comes with its own particular challenges. Infrequent public transport has left many of the town’s scattered population underserved and isolated. For some, a round trip to shops and essential services in the center can require military planning and half a day to complete. No wonder so many residents are dependent on their cars or others to get around.
Bus operator Soler i Sauret is battling on, doing their best to optimize services and cover as much ground as possible following funding cuts. But trying to keep everyone happy is pleasing no one, least of all the lone overworked bus driver. Patchy coverage and long wait times have led to a vicious circle of falling demand, revenue and supply that shows no sign of improving. Clearly, traditional transport planning isn’t working for Vallirana.
This was the situation when Shotl was called in to radically rethink suburban mobility for the town. The challenge was how to get Vallirana moving again without spending more.
The Solution
Shotl switched Vallirana’s bus lines to a combination of fixed-route-and-schedule at peak times and flexible on-demand the rest of the time. During on-demand hours, users can request pick-up and drop-off at any of the new stops that now cover the entire residential area, so nobody gets left behind.
We provided Soler i Sauret with a Passenger App, Driver App, Central Control Console, driver training, marketing materials and support. They provided the vehicle, driver and driver’s tablet and promoted services locally. Vallirana Town Council funded the service and provided a back-up phone line and staffed help points around town.
- Passenger App allows users to book and pay for rides, get real-time pick-up and drop-off updates, and a personalized, flexible service that adapts to their needs, not the other way round.
- Driver App alerts drivers to new bookings in real-time and directs them to dynamic pick- up and drop-off points. The Driver App can also be used to control on-board capacity.
- Algorithms constantly optimize all passenger bookings and vehicles routes to provide the best possible service for all users.
- Dashboard allows transport operators to set service parameters, monitor operations in real time via the Control Panel and get detailed data and analytics on user behavior, taking the guesswork out of getting it right.
Making an impact
After 36 months of service, notable improvements have been achieved in the transportation system. The cost of service per passenger decreased by 29.5%, dropping from 16.11€ to 11.35€. Passenger numbers increased substantially by 250% per day, rising from 20 to 70. Additionally, the service expanded its coverage within the same area by 60%, from 55 to 88 stops. User satisfaction reached a rating of 4.6 out of 5.0, while wait times were significantly reduced by 85%, now averaging just 13 minutes compared to the previous range of 75-90 minutes.
Lessons learnt
- The new on-demand service was well received, with user numbers growing rapidly to hit 190 after 6 weeks, by which point most bookings were being made via App.
- Increased passenger numbers meant increased operational costs, but rising revenue more than covered this. So we reduced public spending overall.
- Providing first-mile, last-mile connections to Vallirana-Barcelona transit means more commuters can now leave their cars at home.
- Analysis of user data revealed many residents walk downhill into town and take public transport back. So more people travelling means more people getting healthy exercise.