We spoke with Cristina Valdés Serrano from EMT Madrid to provide us with the latest updates about the developments of EMT as a transport provider in Madrid, its involved in the MOMENTUM project and an overview about the impact of COVID-19. As the public transport operator of the city of Madrid since 1947, EMT Madrid manages the city’s bus fleet of more than 200 lines, as well as several parking facilities, the public bike sharing system BICIMAD (2016) and the cable car system (2018).

 

Which emerging mobility solution (and the respective integration) does your city analyse?

Madrid has been a real laboratory during the last years, as several emerging mobility solutions are appearing. The chosen ones for MOMENTUM, based on the implementation and the data availability, have been the public bike sharing system BICIMAD (100% electric bikes) and the motorbike sharing system.

 

Let’s give the reader an update; what has happened in 2021?

During 2021, as well as during the second half of 2020, bus demand has partially recovered, but is still around 70% of Pre COVID-19 levels. Private car use, instead, has recovered almost 100% of pre COVID-19 levels.

The public bike sharing system had to close during part of the lockdown, but its use rapidly increased when the lockdown finalized. There was a peak in uses in June 2020. Current use level is higher than 2019 but not as high as June 2020. Now, in September we will have an important milestone for the mobility in the city, as several companies are coming back to face to face work, and the city council has implemented several measures to facilitate public transport use.