Case study · València

The EMT stop, also read aloud.

The new shelters of Empresa Municipal de Transports de València carry a NaviLens code: blind and low-vision riders locate the stop from metres away and hear lines, destinations and waiting times with the free NaviLens GO app.

New EMT València shelter at stop 2299 'Amado Granell Mesado' in the Monteolivet neighbourhood, on a tree-lined avenue; several people wait for the bus next to the «Som de barri, fem ciutat» panel, and on the red side module a colourful square NaviLens code is visible

≈900

Shelters with an exclusive València design

July 2021

First smart stop in Monteolivet

EMT València

Public bus operator

Braille + NaviLens

Universal accessibility by default

The client

EMT València
Public bus operator

EMT València is the public bus operator of the Turia capital, owned by the City Council. It moves over 100 million riders a year and runs the bus network connecting the city's neighbourhoods and its metropolitan area.

In February 2021 the City Council unveiled the prototype of the new shelter model with an exclusive València design —city skyline, solar panels, free wifi, USB chargers, braille plates and NaviLens technology— and in July 2021 the Monteolivet neighbourhood received the first units in service, as part of a plan to gradually renew about 900 stops across the city.

The accessible design was developed with user organisations —COCEMFE, Unión de Consumidores and the Associació Valenciana pel Transport Públic— so that braille, contrast, ischial supports and NaviLens could coexist in the same shelter.

§ The challenge

Renew 900 stops and make them audible from the start.

01
1980s shelters that no longer served
EMT's stop network was dragging along furniture installed in the late 80s: worn panels, no dynamic information and zero support for people with visual disabilities. Renewing 900 shelters was the chance to build in accessibility from the start, not as a patch.
02
Find the stop before being able to use it
For a blind or low-vision rider, getting to the right shelter on avenues with trees, terraces and scaffolding is the first hurdle. Without a sign detectable at distance, you walk past. EMT needed digital signage readable from several metres without aiming.
03
A solution that coexists with braille and pictograms
The new shelters include braille plates, ischial supports, solar panels and wifi. NaviLens had to add to —not replace— that tactile and visual layer, serving app users while respecting those who read the printed panel or braille.

Oblique view of the EMT València shelter at stop 2299 'Amado Granell Mesado (odd) – la Plata', lines 35 and N9; on the roof front, next to the red numeric plate, a colourful square NaviLens code clearly visible from the pavement

§ The solution

One code per shelter, read from over 30 metres away.

Every new EMT shelter carries a NaviLens label in a standard position —roof front and side of the red information module— so it can be detected from the opposite pavement, on the move and without aiming.

Read with the free NaviLens GO app, the user hears the stop number, lines, destinations and waiting times, in the phone's language and without needing to know Valencian or Spanish to understand the information.

The codes are printed signage: they need no electronics or technical maintenance, and they coexist with braille, pictograms and the dynamic information of the SAE panel.

§ On the street

From Monteolivet to the Ciutat de les Arts: the same sign at every stop.

Front view of the EMT València shelter 'Amado Granell Mesado (odd) – la Plata' with zonal map info panels, lines 35 and N9; a traveller leaning on the red side module reads the panel and, at the top of the glass, a colourful square NaviLens code stands out

Detail of a sign stuck on the shelter glass with a colourful square NaviLens code —blue, yellow and magenta squares on black— and the text «Escaneja amb NaviLens GO App» below

Interior of the shelter with the 'Plànol Zonal 5 – Mont-Olivet' on the left and, above it, a colourful square NaviLens code with the text «Escaneja amb NaviLens GO»; in the background, the SAE panel shows 'Est. del Nord 2 m.'

EMT València shelter seen from the pavement, with an Autocontrol mupi advert «Cuidamos los anuncios para cuidarte a ti» and, on the red header, the stop's numeric plate with a NaviLens code next to the text «Escaneja amb»

New EMT València shelter at stop 1746 'Menorca (odd) – Centre Comercial', lines 94 and 99: red side module with NaviLens code next to the tactile info panel, continuous bench and zonal maps on the glass, facing an avenue with residential buildings and rows of trees

EMT València shelter at stop 2235 'Actor Antoni Ferrandis (even) – Centre Comercial', line 99, with a mupi for the 'EMTfest 18 juny – Pl. Ajuntament' concert; in the background the Science Museum and l'Àgora of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, and on the header a NaviLens code next to the stop number

Same shelter, same code placement, same app. The user learns the gesture once at their neighbourhood stop and repeats it anywhere in the network, from Monteolivet to the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències.

§ Why it matters

Accessibility from the start, not as a patch.

+30 m

NaviLens code detection distance, on the move and without high lighting: the stop is located before reaching it.

Voice

lines, destinations and waiting times read aloud by the phone in the user's language, removing the Valencian-Spanish language barrier for visitors.

Free

the NaviLens GO app is free and the codes need no electronics or technical maintenance: it's printed signage, designed to last like the rest of the furniture.

§ Sources