Navigation on this site is not optimized for your browser

Please use a recent version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge to get the most out of the experience.

Find a modern browser
Hero picture
© Ruben dos Santos
news

Guardians of Mobility: from the front lines in Barcelona, Spain

14/04/2020
  • Europe
  • Passenger
  • Staff

There are many “unsung heroes” in times of crisis, and we recognise that our public transport professionals are some of them.

Our ‘Guardians of Mobility’, are an integral part of the front liners keeping essential services available throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the course of these next few weeks, we will be sharing stories from our own community on what’s being done to keep public transport operations running around the world, and to shed a little light on our sector’s contribution to fighting this pandemic.

Today, we hear from Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) sharing experiences from Spain.

FGC

As the coronavirus spread through Europe, Spain was another one of the top countries in the continent hit the hardest. Our member in Barcelona, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), home office of our current UITP President, Pere Calvet, was quick to prepare their front lines and ensure the health and safety of all staff and customers.

“I am amazed by the commitment of all my colleagues coming to work every day, facing daily challenges, in order to provide essential transport services for their community”, said Pere Calvet, General Manager of FGC, and UITP President. “Their dedication motivates me, and should be an inspiration to us all.”

When the crisis began, FGC quickly established a committee to monitor the evolution of the pandemic, and approved a contingency plan with immediate measures to prevent and control the spread, while preserving the company’s capacity to keep providing essential transport services. Temperature checks were instated for OCC staff, while shifts were reorganised to separate the staff into smaller teams, and all other activities were adapted to be done remotely in a work-from-home situation.

I am amazed by the commitment of all my colleagues… their dedication motivates me.
Pere Calvet
General Manager of FGC, and UITP President

More frequent and in-depth cleaning and disinfecting of all trains and facilities, especially those with surfaces often touched by passengers or staff, are still regularly conducted.

Physical “touchpoints” were eliminated for passengers as much as possible, and thus, train doors open automatically at every station.

“Every measure we’ve taken is with the priority in mind to keep our people safe”, said Mr Calvet. “’Our people’ meaning both our colleagues on the front lines, and our fellow citizens that trust us with their mobility needs during this crisis period.”

From the beginning, FGC has worked together with the Catalonian Coordination Center (PROCICAT) and the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM). FGC has a particular talent for strong communication campaigns to engage with the public and these skills came in handy when guidelines and preventative measures were handed down from the local authorities: FGC played a key role in communicating about the crisis and how to handle it properly to the community.

“We have always had a strong bond with our community and we take this role very seriously”, said Mr Calvet. “People here rely on public transport to get to their medical appointments, or to move essential workers to our healthcare facilities… and they are thanking us and showing their appreciation in any way they can!”

Of course, due to the current situation, FGC still had to minimise the mobility services available based on a reduction in the passenger demand. They also strictly ensure a maximum occupation of 1/3 the normal capacity.

While the work continues to keep the region moving during these unprecedented times, our President has begun to think about the next steps and what we—as a sector—can take away from this experience.

“As a society, we will all come away from this period having learned a lot”, said Mr Calvet. “But most importantly, it’s an experience that emphasises the need to collaborate to overcome real challenges, as companies, as individuals, and as a community. There is no ‘one hero’ or individual solution here. We must work together and collaborate… now and in the future!”

Thank you to our Guardians of Mobility in Barcelona for keeping their community moving throughout this difficult time!

Discover our
Membership benefits
This website uses cookies

This website uses third-party website tracking technologies to give you the best experience, help us understand and continually improve how the site works, and to display advertisements according to users' interests. You consent to the use of our cookies by continuing to browse this website.

Cookies page
  • Essentials Essentials

    Those cookies are essentials to the functioning of the site and cannot be disabled in our systems. They are generally set as a response to actions you take that constitute a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling out forms. You can set your browser to block or be notified of these cookies, but some parts of the website may be affected. These cookies do not store any personally identifying information.

    cloudflare

    Cloudflare uses various cookies to maximize network resources, manage traffic, and protect our customers’ sites from malicious traffic.

    epic-cookie-prefs

    Cookie that remembers the user’s cookie settings preferences. It allows to avoid asking the user about their preferences each time they visit the website.

  • Performance

    This Google Analytics cookie is used to persist session state. Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic anonymously.

    _ga

    This Google Analytics cookie is created when you first visit our site. It contains the version of Google Analytics, a randomly generated ID and a datetime group of your first visit. Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic anonymously.

    _ga_(STREAM ID)

    This Google Analytics cookie is used to persist session state. Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic anonymously.

This website uses cookies

We use cookies and similar techonologies to adjust your preferences, analyze traffic and measure the effectiveness of campaigns. You consent to the use of our cookies by continuing to browse this website.