Case study · Zaragoza, Aragón
Zaragoza's entire bus and tram network, accessible by voice.
How Avanza Zaragoza and the City Council, in partnership with the ONCE, deploy NaviLens on shelters, totems, poles and vehicles of the urban bus and tram services.
Zaragoza
Full urban bus and tram network · Avanza Zaragoza · Zaragoza City Council
2020 → 2022
Pilot in September 2020 · full rollout after the trial period in 2022
Bus + Tram
Shelters, totems, stop poles and interior doors of the vehicles
ONCE
Project developed in partnership with ONCE in Aragón
The client
Avanza
Zaragoza
Avanza Zaragoza is the urban public transport operator of the Aragonese capital: it runs the urban bus service under a municipal concession from Zaragoza City Council and is part of the operation of the tram through the joint venture TUZSA / Los Tranvías de Zaragoza.
The company carries millions of passengers each year on a network that combines dozens of day and night bus lines with the city's only modern tram line, a north–south axis between Parque Goya and Mago de Oz.
The NaviLens rollout is part of the joint universal accessibility strategy of Zaragoza City Council, Avanza and ONCE Aragón, which has made Zaragoza one of the first European cities with a full urban bus + tram network tagged with NaviLens codes.
§ The challenge
Letting the stop and the vehicle announce themselves.
- 01
Locating the stop without seeing it
For a blind or low-vision person, finding the right shelter or totem on a wide avenue was the first hurdle. Stops needed to “broadcast” information from several yards away and be readable while walking.
- 02
Knowing which line is coming and when
The LED arrival panels are visual. Line, destination and next-arrival information was inaccessible to anyone who could not read the screen, and the system had to integrate with Avanza's real-time data.
- 03
Boarding, validating and getting off at the right stop
Once inside the bus or tram, the challenge was to find the doors, priority seats and wheelchair spaces, and to identify the specific line and next stop without relying on the PA system.
§ The solution
One code per stop,
another per vehicle.
NaviLens integrates with Avanza's SAE to read out the stop name, the lines serving it and the minutes to the next arrival. Codes are detected from several yards away and let users locate the shelter without seeing it.
Inside the bus or tram, another code next to the accessible doors identifies the vehicle, the line and the next stop, and guides the passenger to the priority seats and wheelchair space.
§ Timeline
From the bus pilot to the full bus + tram network.
- Sep 2020
The urban bus pilot launches
Zaragoza City Council and Avanza Zaragoza launch a NaviLens pilot on shelters and vehicles of the urban bus service. The codes let users with visual disabilities locate the stop and check lines and arrival times in real time from the app.
- 12 Jul 2021
Public unveiling with the ONCE
Avanza Zaragoza officially presents the NaviLens rollout in partnership with the ONCE: the system integrates with the municipal SAE to provide dynamic arrival and line info, and an extension to the whole urban network is announced for the fall.
- Sep 2022
Full bus + tram rollout
After the trial period, the entire Zaragoza urban bus and tram network adopts NaviLens on shelters, totems and vehicles. The codes work as a voice virtual assistant to improve accessibility for people with visual disabilities.
- Today
Codes on shelters, totems and vehicles
NaviLens codes are present on tram shelters and poles (stops such as Los Olvidados or La Ventana Indiscreta), on the metal bus totems (“BUS 55 / TR” Los Olvidados) and next to the interior doors of Avanza Zaragoza's Urbos 3 trams.
§ On the ground
Shelters, totems and vehicles read aloud by the app.
§ Results
“Voice information across the entire bus and tram network.”
100% network
Zaragoza's full urban bus and tram network with NaviLens on stops and vehicles
Live arrivals
The app reads out lines, destinations and minutes to the next arrival from Avanza's SAE
Voice assistant
Works as a virtual assistant: locate the stop, identify the line and orient inside the vehicle
§ What they said
“Tras el periodo de prueba, la totalidad de la red de autobús urbano y tranvía ha incorporado en sus vehículos y marquesinas la denominada tecnología Navilens. Se trata de un sistema de marcadores digitales con más capacidad que los códigos QR que funcionarán como un asistente virtual por voz para mejorar la accesibilidad.”
“Las paradas de autobús de Zaragoza contarán con un nuevo sistema para asistir a las personas invidentes y con discapacidad visual: el sistema NaviLens permite acceder a información sobre los tiempos de llegada de los autobuses leyendo un código desde la app del móvil.”
“Los autobuses de Zaragoza mejorarán su accesibilidad para personas con discapacidad con la incorporación de la tecnología NaviLens. El proyecto piloto, que se puso en marcha en septiembre de 2020, ha funcionado con éxito, razón por la que se ha adquirido definitivamente esta tecnología.”
“La aplicación NaviLens ayuda a las personas a localizar las paradas y recibir información sobre tiempos de espera, líneas y destinos. La colaboración entre el Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza, Avanza y la ONCE permite extender el sistema a toda la red urbana.”
§ 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.
