Jordi Castells, Operations Director at Moventis and General Manager at Sarbus, was invited to appear on the La Contraportada programme on TV Sant Cugat to explain how Moventis operates and what it does exactly, specifically in Sant Cugat. During the programme, Jordi Castells also spoke about the challenges faced by public transport in the immediate future.
In 2021, Spain stands among the top three participants in the IRONMAN Study, the largest global registry of advanced prostate cancer patient samples, highlighting the commitment from Spanish society to this research. In fact, Spain has tripled its involvement from 80 to 237 patients within a period of 12 months. This figure once again demonstrates the solidarity of Spanish patients with this long-term project that will help us better understand the disease and develop new therapeutic options for the future.
Guillermo Mora, a 71-year-old patient who was diagnosed with prostate cancer six years ago and who has been in the metastasis stage for three years, wanted to share with Spanish society what it means to take part in a project like IRONMAN: “The responsibility to end this disease not only lies with doctors and researchers. As patients, we must be able to help and I feel that if my time, my experience and my samples can help us find a cure one day – hopefully sooner rather than later – then that is the least I can do. We are essential to the medical research and we have to be proactive if we want to achieve what so many of us so anxiously desire”.
This spirit of involvement and commitment to cancer research is the driving force pushing Moventia – a benchmark company in sustainable mobility – to maintain its commitment to this project through the FERO Foundation year after year as one of the main donors making it possible for Spain to be on the global IRONMAN map.
In the words of Silvia Martí, VP of Corporate, Internal and Institutional Communication at Moventia: “we have been supporting FERO on various projects for more than six years because we believe that we must all feel involved if we want to make real progress in cancer research: patients, relatives, researchers, doctors, civil society, companies, etc. Every one of us does our bit. For that reason, we are more convinced than ever that our effort to support IRONMAN year after year will be able to help people like Mr. Mora to improve their quality of life and find solutions that now seem unimaginable”.
Moventia’s support for this initiative forms part of the actions planned under its Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Plan as a voluntary expression by the company to help build a better society.
More visibility and research
The spirit, strength and determination of Mr. Mora seem inherent to the hundreds of Spanish patients who have joined this project in one year. However, he calls for more visibility and commitment to a disease with which 1 out of 8 men will be diagnosed during their lifetime[1]. “Prostate cancer is as equally prevalent as breast cancer but has a much lower profile in the media and therefore lacks the same level of support… We must make people more aware, ensure they have themselves checked, know the warning signs, etc. because with cancer, more than ever, time is golden”.
“I am always surprised by how open our patients are to taking part in projects like IRONMAN, how motivated they are to form part of projects that can help us better understand the disease. We are tremendously grateful to them and we try to respond by learning as much as we can about the disease from the data and the samples that they provide us with so altruistically”, explains Dr. Joaquín Mateo, Head of the Translational Prostate Cancer Research Group at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), the oncologist for Mr. Mora and one of the coordinators of the study here in Spain.
The project
The IRONMAN project is based on three main lines of action: a systemic collection of clinical data from patients with advanced prostate cancer (treatments, evolution, response to them); to this register are added data on the personal life of the patients (how they live with the disease, how the treatment affects their daily life); and, finally, a bank of participating patient samples is created in order to conduct translational research with them. The goal is to become a major international platform for clinical and molecular data from patients in 16 different countries in order to help better understand the disease and to fight it more effectively in the future.
“IRONMAN is special because, besides what we learn from the project itself, which we hope will be a great deal, it helps us build a network between researchers and hospitals in our country, which I’m sure will facilitate many other projects and lead to progress in this field in the future”, explains Dr. David Olmos, Head of the Clinical Research on Prostate Cancer Unit at the National Centre for Oncology Research (CNIO) and Spanish coordinator of the study alongside Mateo.
Eleven benchmark Spanish centres are already taking part in this research network, which connects oncologists in Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia and Asturias. Furthermore, the project in Spain is also backed by the FERO Foundation and the Movember Foundation, two non-profit organisations engaged in promoting cancer research.
Once again, Moventia (through Autocares Calella) supported the XVIII Pilarín Bayés Awards by providing the transportation for primary school children from various schools across Catalonia taking part in the event. The award ceremony took place at the Catalan National Art Museum on 1 June.
The prizes are presented in recognition of stories written by primary school children. The awards seek to encourage reading and to bring books closer to children, stimulate their imagination and make them reflect and work on issues based on values. They are organised by Editorial Mediterrània in partnership with Obra Social San Juan de Dios. Lockdown was the chosen theme for the competition this year. An experience shared by all children but approached very differently in every home.
Many congratulations to all the winners!
Josep Maria Martí, CEO of Moventia and Vice-President of Moventis, took part in the 35 IESE Mobility, an annual meeting organised by the IESE Business School and Deloitte. During the course of the event, various executives in the sector highlighted how the automotive industry is getting ready for a decade that – especially in cities – is characterised by a new, increasingly more electric kind of mobility with a greater emphasis on the use of car sharing aimed at combining more different means of transportation.
Among others, this future was discussed at the event by the Chief Digital Officer of ALSA, Carlos Acha; the CEO of RACC, Xavier Pérez; the Director of Mobility of Ferrovial (MC:FER), Andrés Camacho; the Chief Strategy & Development Officer of Renfe, Manel Villalante; the CEO of EYSA, Javier Delgado; the CEO Rolling Stock of CAF (MC:CAF) and Chairman of Solaris (OTC:SPCL), Josu Imaz; and the Quality, Engineering and Strategic Programmes Director Iberia of DHL Express Spain, Rafael Pérez del Monte.
While speaking, Josep Maria Martí insisted that “recharging infrastructure must be expanded in Spain to promote this type of vehicle”, which in Barcelona remains rather lacklustre. “We should have 100,000 recharging points, not 200”, he said at the meeting. Furthermore, Josep Maria Martí stressed that this commitment should involve public-private collaboration to ensure mobility that is “more sustainable and efficient”.
All the executives taking part in the meeting also underlined the importance of harnessing the Next Generation funds to achieve greater, more rational, green, electric and social mobility. Similarly, they agreed that digitalisation alongside new technologies like ‘big data’ will change the existing mobility model in Spain, making it more sustainable, efficient and shared, through such ideas as integrated mobility.
Autocars Calella has signed a partnership agreement with the Catalan Hockey Federation under which the mobility company has become the official partner of this sports federation, offering its coach service to all the hockey clubs in Catalonia throughout the season.
At the signing ceremony, which took place recently in Sant Cugat del Vallés with the Chairman of the Catalan Hockey Federation, Xavier Adell Salvatella, and the Managing Director of Moventis, Miquel Martí Pierre, the two executives highlighted their commitment and drive to encouraging the practice of sport in these exceptional times.
The agreement reaffirms the position achieved by the Moventis Group as a benchmark in group mobility given its proven reliability in meeting all safety, hygiene and control protocols. This federation now joins all the other sports entities that also trust in the services provided by mobility companies of this group, which include Girona FC, CE Sabadell FC, the Catalan Swimming Federation, Junior FC and the handball teams of OAR Gracia, Balonmano Santo Quirze, Balonmano Bordils and San Martín Adrianenc, among many others.
According to Xavier Adell Salvatella, Chairman of the Catalan Hockey Federation, “we are very happy to partner with Autocares Calella and offer its transport services to our member clubs, safe in the knowledge that their athletes will travel in complete safety”. To this, the Manager of Autocares Calella, Miquel Martí Pierre, added that “we would like to express our gratitude for the trust placed in us by such an important sports entity as the Catalan Hockey Federation. The commitment by the companies in the Moventis Group to meeting safety, hygiene and control protocols is an absolute priority, and the agreements we have so far reached with sports entities and organisations in other sectors drive us to continue working every day to maintain our position as the benchmark mobility company in the public transport sector”.
Begur Town Council and El Baix Empordà Regional Council have officially recognised Moventis SARFA for its social responsibility initiatives during the pandemic. The actions most deserving of this high praise are: its promotion of quality employment in the region, its collaboration with local employment services, its launch of initiatives aimed at employment inclusion for people with functional diversity and its donation to Palamós Hospital.
Enric Gimeno, General Manager of Moventis SARFA, collected the award in recognition of the various social responsibility actions undertaken by the company during the pandemic.
The Mayor of Begur, Maite Selva, presented the award to Moventis SARFA and highlighted the importance of such companies that are based on hard work, innovation and commitment in tough times for society like the COVID-19 pandemic. “Commitment shown by companies like Moventis SARFA, which continue to bring added value to all during such tough and uncertain times and have contributed more than ever to consolidating a social, collaborative, sustainable and responsible economy in our region.”
The Palafrugell Municipal Theatre was chosen as the venue to host the award ceremony organised by the El Baix Empordà Regional Council and the El Baix Empordà Regional Network of Economic Promotion Officers, with support from several local council authorities throughout the region, including Begur Town Council. The event sought to highlight those companies in the region that have shown themselves to be socially responsible during the COVID-19 pandemic through initiatives leading to a positive impact for the general public.
The awards, which were presented to 17 businesses in the region, were proposed by a technical committee made up by the regional council and various local council authorities in El Baix Empordà.
The role of Moventis SARFA during the pandemic
Moventis SARFA is an iconic company in El Empordà, a leader in the transport sector and boasts a history spanning almost 100 years. The organisation has been recognised for its regular collaboration with local employment services through participation in training and accompaniment programmes for the re-employment of the unemployed, the inclusion of people with functional diversity in its workforce and the economic contribution made to Palamós Hospital.
Social responsibility as a cross-cutting issue
Social responsibility at Moventis is something that forms a major part of its day-to-day business. According to Enric Gimeno, “we are fully aware of our opportunity to build a more equal society and generate well-being for people. It can therefore be said that the concept of solidarity is another of the underlying pillars that support Moventis, an inherent characteristic of our nature”.
According to its CSR Policy, Moventia is committed to returning to society that which society gives to Moventia, understanding solidarity as a voluntary expression by the company in its contribution towards building a better society, its commitment to continually strive to improve and go beyond simply complying with legal obligations and to continue investing in human resources, the environment and stakeholder relations.
Based on this approach to solidarity, Moventis is highly dedicated to commitment and social responsibility in its environment, working with its partners to build a better society.
The Carril Bus magazine recently published a special sectoral article on the main transport operators in Spain. The article includes opinions from benchmark executives at each of the companies about the crisis stemming from the global pandemic and their outlooks for the coming months and years in the public mobility sector. The article also includes insights and perspectives from Josep María Martí, CEO of Moventia, on future trends and his conclusions from the last 12 months.
The article can be read in full here
At Moventia, our goal remains to foster equality and parity between men and women within the mobility sector. Ever since plans for equality between men and women were launched in 2007, and following our adherence and commitment to the manifesto promoted by the European Transport Commission to encourage the hiring of women, our company has ceaselessly pushed towards building a sector with more equal treatment and jobs between men and women. At present, all our companies have sexual harassment prevention mechanisms in place and are governed by equal access to employment, professional classification, training and promotion, as well as equal pay and work-life balance for everyone who works at Moventia.
Movento is boosting the presence of Motospazio in central Barcelona, its dealership for motorcycle brands from the Piaggio group. The doors of Motospazio Hamamatsu opened to the public in December. These premises bring together the Piaggio, Vespa, Derbi, Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Aprilia dealerships into one place, as well as the corresponding official garage, which also operates under a multi-brand model. The space can be found at 337 Calle Mallorca, next to Paseo de San Juan.
By adding these premises to the dealership on Calle Calvet, Motospazio has doubled its presence in Barcelona with spaces in strategically central locations offering benchmark services to two-wheeled vehicle users. The Motospazio experience is now more than just a motorcycle sales business, including a showroom area and a repair garage to focus on in-depth services from specialised advisers.
According to Santi Colomer, Managing Director of Movento Diversification, “these new premises once again demonstrate the commitment from Movento to motorcycle distribution and repair that began six years ago with Motospazio and has been recently boosted with new leading brands”. Jorge Carrillo, Head of the Motorcycle Division, also expressed satisfaction with this growth within the Motospazio structure. By opening these premises, Movento is continuing to strengthen its presence in the world of two-wheeled transportation and consolidating its presence in the Catalan capital.
The compressed natural gas refuelling station will also open to the public soon for the refuelling of private vehicles.
The Mobility and Housing Councillor, Marc Pons, was accompanied by the Mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez, the Director-General for Mobility and Road Transport, Jaume Mateu, and the Managing Director of the Mallorca Transport Consortium, Maarten Johannes Van Bemmelen, on a visit to the new depot-gas refuelling station for the TIB bus fleet in Calvià this morning. The Chairman of Moventia, Miquel Martí, and other representatives from the company managing the new intercity public transport concession for the western region since the start of the year also took part in the visit.
The councillor stressed that “this is one of the six gas refuelling stations we have promoted via the new TIB network on the island of Mallorca, and the first to be opened to all members of the public and businesses in general”. Marc Pons wished to highlight the qualitative leap forward made by implementing the new TIB: “Five years of work are producing good results, a very competitive offer and improved public transport to position Mallorca at the cutting edge of a new intercity mobility model”, he said.
Located in the Son Bugadelles industrial estate, the depot includes a parking area for 42 buses, a bus wash area, an office and a rapid compressed natural gas refuelling station with two refuelling lanes fitted with NGV1 and NGV2 pumps. The gas refuelling station supplies compressed natural gas (CNG) to the TIB bus fleet owned by Moventis. It will soon open to the public for the CNG refuelling of both private cars and trucks, coaches and vans.
Miquel Martí, Chairman of Moventia, expressed gratitude for the support provided by the public authorities in the Balearic Islands and especially Calvià Local Council, which did everything it could to help open the premises and launch the service in record time. “This is the second gas refuelling station opened by Moventia: the first in France and now in Mallorca, which is the first within Spain. It is a clear commitment to public transport, sustainability and decarbonisation”, he said. He went on to add that, “despite the complicated times being caused by the health situation, the Moventis Illes team made it possible to launch this service from 1 January through tenacity and a huge effort, and we are very pleased with the demand we saw in January”.
The Mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, underlined the improvement made to such an important municipal service as public transport, as well as to the compressed natural gas fuel system in terms of the environmental impact and noise. He also stressed that, due to their location in the heart of the municipality, these installations will enable greater efficiency in the service and will also be an advantage in the future for the refuelling of another public service – taxis.
Redexis was responsible for building both the gas refuelling station and the gas supply installations leading to the premises. The energy company built five distribution gas lines to supply gas to a total of six gas refuelling stations located at the headquarters of various concessionaires for the TIB service in Mallorca, making a fleet of 198 compressed natural gas buses possible and thereby promoting more sustainable and economic mobility. Miguel Mayrata, Head of Business Diversification for Redexis said that “Redexis welcomes the opening of this gas refuelling station, which represents the ongoing promotion of the necessary energy infrastructure for both the Moventis fleet and the professionals and citizens of Mallorca to have access to more economical, sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility solutions”.
Besides the depot presented earlier today, Moventis also has another two depots located in the Son Castelló industrial estate. The depots owned by the concessionaire in the western region are home to a total of 55 vehicles, including 12-metre buses, articulated buses, intercity buses, microbuses, etc. so all road and service types can be covered. 50 of these vehicles run on CNG and the remaining five are hybrid electric. It is an entirely new fleet, with which the group wishes to anticipate new mobility habits and therefore base its offer on innovative and sustainable technologies from an environmental and social standpoint.
