06 May 2020

Transport and Tourism on the way to a new normality

Conditions of occupancy of vehicles in ground transport.

In the ​​collective transport sector, it’s being done an intense work to build trust and security. This week, the measures adopted to provide the service have been updated. Until now, trains, subways, buses and coaches, or private transport vehicles with drivers, could only occupy a third of their capacity. On this same date of May 4, it goes to 50% occupancy. Likewise, the specific regulations in the Ministerial Order TMA / 384/2020 indicate that users of public transport must wear a mask to access the service. Likewise, it is recommended to maintain, as far as possible, the distance between the rest of the users and it is recommended to use a single seat per row of seats or to establish a reasonable distance in the means of transport that allow you to travel standing up. Another recommendation is to maintain exhaustive hand hygiene both before and immediately after using the service. A good recommendation is to be able to carry the corresponding bottle of hydroalcoholic liquid in travel size, since it allows immediate use in every circumstance.

Transport companies have also immediately adapted to the new measures. In the case of the company Avant Grupit has already communicated to its clients and collaborators the new measures to update users on the new situation in which we operate.

In the complementary public and private transport of passengers by bus / coach, companies have adopted the necessary measures to ensure the maximum possible separation between users, so that their occupation does not exceed 50% of the available seats in relation to the maximum capacity of each vehicle.
The use of face-masks is mandatory during the use of the service.
The passengers flow will be controlled to limit occupancy to a maximum of 50% of the total available seats in order to guarantee the maximum possible distance between users inside each vehicle.
It is necessary to reinforce hygiene and disinfection of the hands both before and after the use of the public transport service.

• In the complementary public and private transport of passengers by bus / coach, companies have adopted the necessary measures to ensure the maximum possible separation between users, so that their occupation does not exceed 50% of the available seats in relation to the maximum capacity of each vehicle.
• The use of face-masks is mandatory during the use of the service.
• The passengers flow will be controlled to limit occupancy to a maximum of 50% of the total available seats in order to guarantee the maximum possible distance between users inside each vehicle.
• It is necessary to reinforce hygiene and disinfection of the hands both before and after the use of the public transport service.

In the attached infographic you can see a typical occupation of a public transport vehicle and the users distributed according to the regulations of occupying only one of the places for each row of seats. In the case of coaches, the first seat behind the driver will not allow occupancy by passengers, except if there is a partition between the first row of seats and the driver’s seat. This same situation can be passed on to the other types of buses and coaches, regardless of their capacity, or to private vehicles and minivans with drivers. In the latter case, some units already have protection elements installed between the driver’s seat and the rear seats for passengers.

These measures, accompanied by cleaning and disinfection protocols, influence the increase in trust towards users and work with the same criteria as the rest of the actors linked to the tourism sector. Altogether, it ends up benefiting the Tourist Destination so that as soon as possible it can return to a certain normality..

In a first phase, the reactivation would be carried out by proximity trips and within the same territorial area. In a recent survey carried out by the University of Barcelona, the Delta del Ebro, Costa Brava and the Pyrenees would be the three destinations preferred by families in Catalonia to be able to make the first trips. In relation to activities, preferences include those that are in some way linked to nature, gastronomy and culture.