Calaf pioneers smart digital solutions to public transport
Located in the Alta Segarra region in the rural interior of Catalonia, Spain, Calaf has 3,000 inhabitants and is the main town in an area with 13 villages with fewer than 600 inhabitants each.
Calaf is the epicenter for economic, educational, and social activity in the area, like schools, medical and sports centers and weekly markets, among others.
The very low population density of the surrounding villages combined with the radial layout of roads connecting them with Calaf means traditional public transport is very infrequent. As a result, inhabitants have traditionally often been forced to resort to private transport for their daily commutes.
In 2019, Shotl proposed to Calaf Town Council to jointly enter the SmartCatalonia Challenges, which promote open innovation to solve territorial challenges in Catalonia. Our proposal involved implementing public on-demand transport in the area. The aim was to significantly improve the frequencies of buses and so optimize public resources allocated to citizens’ mobility.
Shotl won the Challenge and part of the award consisted of the deployment of a pilot project in the Alta Segarra region for six months. The service began on May 24th 2019 with one vehicle under the white label application Clic.cat, which aims to unite all public on-demand transport in Catalonia under the same brand and is promoted by Shotl as a technology provider.
With 50 stops covering a total area of 80 km2, the Calaf service is operational on weekdays from 9:00h to 13:00h and from 17:00h to 20:30h. On Saturdays, from 10:00h to 14:00h.
Calaf is the first of several deployments that Shotl will carry out this spring. Over five weeks, our on-demand transport platform will become a reality in several new locations in five European countries.
