Hicid, the concessionary company for the Vila-real urban transport service, known as groguet, incorporated two Scania CNG vehicles built by Castrosúa at the end of last year. This is a commitment of the Vila-real city council for sustainable mobility in the city. Traveling on these bus lines is also free for users.
“We are a city of 53,000 inhabitants and we have made a firm and consistent commitment to the environment and people. These two urban lines are free and are operated by natural gas vehicles, which means that people reduce the use of private cars, saving emissions into the atmosphere,” said Emilio Obiol, Councilor for Mobility of the Vila-real city council.
This new groguet service came into force in 2018 after the remodeling of an old urban bus line, which was not widely used by citizens. In this profound renovation, a double bet was made: the free service and the use of less polluting vehicles.
“We made a drastic change to promote mobility and remove vehicles from the urban area thanks to two new free lines to make them accessible to everyone,” explained Félix Fuentes, Mobility technician from Vila-real.
This change in the service also affected the vehicles that were going to provide it. Together with the service operator, Hicid, they opted for greener and quieter vehicles than the previous ones, two Scania buses powered by CNG.
“The bus operator and its drivers speak highly of Scania vehicles: they are new, comfortable and very spacious. They have two spaces for people with reduced mobility and their good maneuverability is essential to circulate through the network of some streets,” Fuentes added.
The response from the citizens of Vila-real was also positive, since in this time the number of passengers has multiplied almost 20 times.
Source: Scania Spain
