• The Abertis Foundation, Barcelona City Council, the Catalonian Down’s Syndrome Foundation, Transportes Metropolitanos de Barcelona, the city’s public transport operator, and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the regional train operator and a new member, have launched the KanGo! project for the second year. The aim of this initiative is to make it easier for school pupils in Barcelona’s Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district to use public transport independently.
• The scheme also fosters the workplace integration of young people with intellectual disabilities or Down’s Syndrome and helps to ease traffic congestion around schools.
• KanGo! volunteers will be on hand at each of the designated bus stops to ensure children swipe their travel passes, automatically generating a notification for their families.

Barcelona, 15 September 2015

The Abertis Foundation, Barcelona City Council, the Catalonian Down’s Syndrome Foundation, Transportes Metropolitanos de Barcelona, Telefónica and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, which is responsible for the Sarrià, Reina Elisenda and Av. Tibidabo stops, are rolling out the KanGo! project with the aim of making it easier for pupils in Barcelona’s Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district to travel to school using public transport.

The initiative also fosters the workplace integration of young people with an intellectual disability or Down’s Syndrome and helps to ease congestion around the schools in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, a district with 71 schools and over 40,000 pupils, where traffic jams are a constant problem. This project encourages children to become more independent and improves mobility while at the same time increasing peace of mind for parents and promoting the use of public transport to reach school.

The project involves:

1. The use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology at the city’s bus stops closest to schools.
2. Alerting families when their children pass through the designated stops.
3. Sending families a text message or email with this information.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a contactless technology enabling devices within close proximity of each other to connect and exchange data. Its use means the children’s families will automatically be informed of their whereabouts (stops or schools) as soon as they swipe their travel passes. A KanGo! volunteer will be on hand at each of the designated bus stops to ensure that all children do so. To ensure that the project runs smoothly, participating schools have been requested to install a validation point at their entrances and to mediate with families.

To take part in this project children must be between 8 and 14 years old, be holders of the T12 travel pass, carry an ID card with an NFC chip, and make sure they swipe their passes when they board transport and arrive at school.

Last year six schools were involved in the pilot scheme: IE Costa i Llobera, Colegio Sant Ignasi, La Salle Bonanova, Colegio Jesús-Maria Sant Gervasi, Escola Tàber and Escola Projecte. An additional six schools have been enrolled for the 2015/2016 academic year, bringing the total to twelve. The new schools are: Escola Lleó XIII, Escola L’Horitzó, Escola Decroly, Escola Canigó and Lycée Français. This academic year 18 volunteers will be taking part in the KanGo! project.

96% of parents who took part in the evaluation survey at the end of the first year said it had been ideal for children because it helps them to achieve greater independence and increases their self-confidence while also providing parents with peace of mind because they know that their children have safely reached their stops and school. Approval was also also expressed for the work of the KanGo! volunteers.

The KanGo! project is an example of an initiative that adopts a practical approach to a mobility issue while also delivering social and environmental benefits. Its goal is to achieve mobility that minimises negative impacts on the environment and life quality whilst at the same encouraging the use of public transport.

Abertis Foundation

The Abertis Foundation is active in three key spheres (social, cultural and environmental), and works to mitigate the impact of the Abertis Group’s activity in the countries in which it operates. Its commitment to society is highlighted by an extensive road safety programme primarily targeting the most vulnerable drivers and pedestrians: school children, young people who lack driving experience and older drivers. The Abertis Foundation’s activities in the area of culture involve partnerships with leading cultural institutions around the world. Regarding environmental protection, its Castellet Castle headquarters are a UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves.