Case study · Zaragoza, Aragón (Spain)
Zaragoza's 25 tram stops, accessible by voice.
How Los Tranvías de Zaragoza, together with the City Council, Avanza, ONCE and Implaser, brought NaviLens to the shelters, ticket machines and Urbos 3 vehicles of Line 1.
Line 1
The only modern tram line in Zaragoza · Parque Goya ↔ Mago de Oz · 12.8 km, 25 stops
100% network
The whole tram network with NaviLens on shelters, poles, ticket machines and vehicles
Sep 2022
Full rollout after the pilot · joint presentation with the City Council, Avanza and ONCE
Tranvías de Zaragoza
Concessionaire operating the tram · TUZSA / Los Tranvías de Zaragoza
The client
Los Tranvías
de Zaragoza
Los Tranvías de Zaragoza, S.L. is the concessionaire that operates Line 1 of the modern tram in Aragón's capital, the city's north–south axis between Parque Goya and Mago de Oz.
The line, opened in stages between 2011 and 2013, runs 12.8 km with 25 stops and is operated with CAF Urbos 3 rolling stock, including a catenary-free section between Plaza España and Plaza Paraíso.
The NaviLens deployment is part of the universal accessibility strategy of Zaragoza City Council together with Avanza, ONCE Aragón and Implaser — the Aragonese NaviLens partner — making Zaragoza one of the first European cities with 100% tagged bus + tram networks.
§ The challenge
Letting the shelter and the Urbos announce themselves.
- 01
Finding the chrome shelter
Zaragoza's tram stops are minimalist black reflective sheet and glass modules, with no easy visual profile for those who cannot see. The challenge was to turn each shelter into a point that “announces itself” from several metres away.
- 02
Buying a ticket and reading the next-train times
The ticket machine and the LED panels with upcoming trams are visual interfaces. Without voice readout they were inaccessible to blind and low-vision passengers — precisely at the critical moment when you decide whether to board or wait.
- 03
Boarding, validating and getting off at the right stop
Inside the Urbos 3, riders had to identify the line, the accessible doors, wheelchair spaces and the next stop without relying only on PA announcements or overhead LED panels.
§ The solution
One code per stop,
another on every Urbos.
Each of the 25 Line 1 shelters carries a NaviLens code next to the ticket machine and the LED panel. The app reads aloud the stop name, the lines and the minutes to the next tram straight from the Tranvías de Zaragoza SAE.
Inside the Urbos 3, another code next to the accessible doors identifies the vehicle, the line and the next stop, and guides riders towards the reserved seats and the PRM space.
§ Timeline
From Valdespartera to the Doodle shelters.
13 Apr 2011
Opening of the Valdespartera–Plaza Paraíso stretch
Los Tranvías de Zaragoza —a joint venture of Avanza, TUZSA, FCC, Acciona, Concessia and CAF— opens the first stretch of Line 1 of Zaragoza's modern tram, the city's north–south axis.
26 Mar 2013
Line 1 complete: Parque Goya ↔ Mago de Oz
The city's only modern tram line is completed: 12.8 km and 25 stops with CAF Urbos 3 rolling stock and a catenary-free section between Plaza España and Plaza Paraíso.
Sep 2020
NaviLens pilot starts on bus + tram
Zaragoza City Council, Avanza Zaragoza and Los Tranvías de Zaragoza launch a NaviLens pilot on shelters and vehicles of the urban transport network to validate integration with the municipal SAE and live arrival times.
27 Sep 2022
Full rollout across the entire tram network
After the trial period, Los Tranvías de Zaragoza announces the definitive rollout of NaviLens across all 25 shelters and tram vehicles: codes next to the ticket machines, on the poles and on the interior doors of the Urbos 3.
Today
Doodle shelters and accessible street art
Some shelters combine NaviLens codes with artistic vinyls —from NaviLens's own Doodle characters to murals with mythological figures and the tram as a visual motif— blending accessibility and urban design in a single module.
§ Results
A whole tram line, accessible by voice.
25 stops
The 25 Line 1 shelters carry a NaviLens code that is visible and detectable from several metres away
Live arrivals
The app reads line, destination and minutes to the next tram from the Tranvías de Zaragoza SAE aloud
Urbos 3 vehicles
Codes on the interior doors of the trams identify the line, the reserved seats and the PRM space
§ Gallery
§ What they said
“El Tranvía de Zaragoza ya cuenta con Navilens, la tecnología que mejora la accesibilidad para personas con discapacidad. La totalidad de la red de transporte público urbano de Zaragoza, tanto el tranvía como el bus, dispone desde ahora de la tecnología Navilens, unos códigos disponibles en marquesinas, paradas y autobuses que permiten obtener información en tiempo real.”
“El Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza, dentro de su apuesta por la mejora de la movilidad, ha puesto en marcha este mes de septiembre el sistema de códigos Navilens en toda la red de transporte público urbano —bus y tranvía— en colaboración con Implaser y Avanza Zaragoza.”
“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 funcionan como un asistente virtual por voz para mejorar la accesibilidad.”
§ 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.
