Case study · Salamanca · Spain
Salamanca's urban bus, now also for those who can't see the shelter.
Salamanca de Transportes (Grupo Ruiz), together with Salamanca City Council and ONCE, installs NaviLens codes on shelters and poles across the urban network. Your phone reads aloud the street, stop number, lines and waiting time of the next bus.
Sep 2024
Public launch of the rollout
Poles + shelters
Codes on pole heads and Bus info panels
Waiting times
Line, stop and next bus read aloud
42
Languages with voice read-out
The client
Salamanca de Transportes S.A. Grupo Ruiz
Salamanca de Transportes is the operator of the city's municipal urban bus service —run by Grupo Ruiz— connecting neighbourhoods with the hospital, health centres and the university campus.
In September 2024, together with Salamanca City Council and ONCE, it presents the NaviLens rollout across its network. The launch brings together Traffic Councillor Ángel Molina, Councillor Miryam Rodríguez, ONCE Salamanca director Esther Pérez and Salamanca de Transportes manager Alfredo Ibáñez.
§ The solution
"Bus info" codes at every stop, scannable without aiming.
NaviLens codes are printed at a larger-than-usual size and placed on shelters and on the head of stop poles, next to the lines panel. They scan from several metres away, in poor light and without needing to be aimed at.
When detected, the app reads aloud the street, the stop number, the lines that serve it and the waiting time for the next bus. It also emits orientation sounds —similar to a pedestrian crossing— to guide the user to the label and indicate the distance.
§ Journey
From the pavement to the seat, without asking anyone for help.
Stop poles
Code at the head of the pole
Blue vertical poles carry the NaviLens code at the top, above the network map and timetables. It's detected from a distance and lets you identify the stop before approaching.
Shelters · Stop nº 283 Hoyamoros
"Bus info" next to the lines panel
On shelters, the Bus info poster sits next to the map and lines panel. The app announces the street —e.g. Calle Hoyamoros— and the next passes of each line.
Onboarding · Apps
Download QR codes next to the code
Each poster includes two standard QR codes to download NaviLens GO (general public) and NaviLens (people with visual impairments), so anyone can try it without prior instructions.
Posters · Learn more
"Pass times, timetables, incidents"
The poster itself explains to passengers what they'll get when scanning: pass times, timetables, incidents. A piece designed to educate the network on using the code without depending on staff.
§ What they said
“Hemos puesto en marcha un nuevo sistema para mejorar la accesibilidad de las paradas de autobús de Salamanca para las personas con problemas de visión, en colaboración con NaviLens.”
“Una novedad que mejora la accesibilidad del autobús urbano para personas con discapacidad visual.”
“Unos códigos de colores que se han colocado en postes y marquesinas, y que redirigen de manera automática a una aplicación móvil con toda la información sobre los recorridos de las líneas y los tiempos de espera.”
§ Press notes
- Salamanca de Transportes — Salamanca improves transport accessibility with NaviLens (Sep 2024)
- Salamanca City Council — QR codes for people with visual impairments (25 Sep 2024)
- Salamancahoy — The new tool on the buses that "gives security" (25 Sep 2024)
- Diario de Transporte — Salamanca de Transportes installs NaviLens QR codes (Sep 2024)
- Corresponsables — Grupo Ruiz improves accessibility with NaviLens (Sep 2024)
- La Gaceta de Salamanca — Record-breaking buses, always accessible (May 2025)
§ And your network?
Your next station can also speak.
Tell us about your network, your pain points and the KPIs you want to move. We’ll show you how NaviLens would fit —with comparable cases.
