First pilot kick-off in Madrid

The first real-world pilot wave has been implemented within the city’s public transportation system. 

On March 15th and 16th, the first PAsCAL pilot on Connected Automated Vehicles (CAVs) kicked off at Metro de Madrid’s Principe Pío and Portazgo stations. Subject of pilot 5 is to assess the experience of vulnerable passengers within a connected transportation system. In order to help users with disabilities, impairments or other mobility constraints (such as strollers or heavy luggage), the Apertum application is tested by corresponding user groups. The service alerts users when certain accessibility criteria (such as working elevators, ramps or disabled parking) are not available at any given station and stop of the system. 

In collaboration with the associations Nadiesolo (an association for the elderly), Fundación Lesionado Medular (an association for quadriplegic people) as well as Famma (Madrid’s association for the disabled) and the University Alfonso X El Sabio, a total of 62 participants tested the service and gave their feedback in form of a questionnaire. The pilot and surveys have been created and executed by Etelätär Innovation.

This kick-off represents the start of a series of pilot tests across Europe under real-world conditions to explore the acceptance of CAVs for specific user groups as well as the general public.