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Spare and Empresa Municipal de Transportes (EMT) Palma de Mallorca collaborate to provide essential transport during the COVID-19 pandemic

Spare and EMT have successfully tested and implemented an on-demand transportation service on the Balearic island of Mallorca, south-east of Spain’s mainland, to ensure easy and convenient access to transportation for Palma’s population.


Kristoffer Vik Hansen

April 15, 2020 (Barcelona, Spain) - Spare and EMT have successfully tested and implemented an on-demand transportation service on the Balearic island of Mallorca, south-east of Spain’s mainland, to ensure easy and convenient access to transportation for Palma’s population.

The service is enabled by Spare, the leading software-as-a-service solution for on-demand mobility, and run by EMT, a Spanish “Municipal Transport Company” that serves more than 500,000 inhabitants and millions of tourists every year.

Spare and EMT replaced existing fixed-route services that have experienced low-ridership in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic with three new, connected on-demand zones.

This first-ever on-demand transit solution that combines the use of buses and taxis for the island of Mallorca ensures sustainable public transportation during the outbreak of COVID-19 and beyond. The three zones cover half the coastline of the Bay of Palma and not only maintain the existing level of transit access for communities but expand it.

"Combining buses and taxis was the hope we had when we reached out to Spare and it works great. I am excited to finally see an on-demand service in Palma. This is what I had in mind for a long time, and now we implemented it in record time," said Manel Rivera Bennàssar, EMT’s Technical Project Manager.

Spare and EMT clocked a record time in configuring and launching a completely new on-demand transport service. In less than 48 hours Spare and EMT designated the on-demand zones, set-up the service and carried out the necessary driver and administrator training.

In this mixed supply on-demand model, made possible by Spare’s innovative technology Spare Fleets, EMT deploys its own dedicated vehicles and drivers and complements them with non-dedicated taxis. By involving the local taxi driver network, EMT seeks to ensure an efficient and timely response for all transit users who have requested a trip from a mobile app or a telephone call.

Guaranteed coverage for all zones through a mixed on-demand supply model is the modus operandi of Spare Fleets. With Spare Fleets transit agencies can mix and match various transit resources whenever and wherever needed in order to maximize their service offering.

It was developed by Spare in recognizing that an efficient operation, through multiple operational providers, and innovation in technology, through shared rides, brings the highest quality customer experience at the lowest cost.

For more information please reach out to us at hello@sparelabs.com.