Barcelona deploys a network of taxi micro-stops

The days of waiting in the street to find a free taxi are over. The City Council is deploying a network of micro-stops to ensure that all Barcelona residents have a nearby point where vehicles will always be available, which will also serve to reduce empty trips made by taxi drivers in search of users. The council thus continues its commitment to making this service more efficient and preventing it from falling behind the new mobility options that have emerged in recent years. The new micro-stops will be complemented by the public app for ordering taxis, which is expected to be operational after the holidays.

The micro-stop network began to be deployed this summer, with the forecast of having the first 50 before October, distributed across the city's ten districts. In the Cerdà grid, there will be a micro-stop at a maximum distance of 120 meters.

So far, eight have been painted and are already in operation. With a capacity for two to four taxis, these first micro-stops are located on Llançà, Cardedeu, Cinca, Garigliano, Alfons el Magnànim, Fluvià streets and Rambla Guipúscoa ---with two micro-stops---. By the end of the year, 140 more will be added, with their location yet to be defined.

The micro-stops will be combined with traditional stops, which have a greater capacity for vehicle parking and are more concentrated in the central neighborhoods of the Catalan capital. With the current 273 taxi stops, which reach 372 in the entire metropolitan area, more than 500 points where one can find a taxi, between stops and micro-stops, will be exceeded.

The objective of this new infrastructure is to ensure that all Barcelona residents have a taxi stop or micro-stop around them, regardless of where they are. "We will generate a capillary network throughout the city because what we want is to bring the taxi service closer to the citizens and the best way to do it is to provide certainty of where they can be found," says the Mobility Councilor, Laia Bonet.

It also has to serve to change the way a taxi will be sought, leaving behind waiting in the street looking for one that is free. "We want to make it easier for users to go directly to the ranks to look for a taxi and not have to go through the street, neither the taxi driver nor the user. Basically, because this fills the streets with empty cars, which causes emissions that we can save," explains the first deputy mayor, Jaume Collboni. Despite this new facility, it will still be possible to take a taxi when one is found unoccupied on the road.

"What we want is to bring the taxi service closer to the citizens and the best way to do it is to provide security on where they can be found," says Laia Bonet

For taxi drivers, it will mean fuel savings, a key issue in the current context of soaring fuel prices. "Now, driving empty is ruinous," summarizes Tito Álvarez, spokesperson for Élite Taxi, the most representative association in the sector. According to calculations by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), taxis travel 660 million kilometers a year, and almost half of that is empty. With micro-stops, congestion will also be reduced.

Alongside the deployment of the new micro-stop network, the launch of a new public app is being finalized, which will serve to order taxis via mobile, a pioneering initiative throughout Spain. The new application, which will be called Picmi Taxi, will function similarly to other apps for ordering taxis that operate in Barcelona, such as Taxi Ecològic or FreeNow.

The new public application will function similarly to other apps that operate in Barcelona, such as Taxi Ecològic or FreeNow

To use this new service, users will have to download the metropolitan mobile application AMB Mobilitat. Through it, they will be able to access the Picmi Taxi service. Once inside, they will only have to request the taxi.The application will geolocate the user and inform them of the nearest taxi, as well as provide an estimated price for the journey.The entire fleet of metropolitan taxis, more than 10,000 vehicles, will have to register for this new service, which will reduce waiting times. One of the shortcomings of the newapp public is that taxi reservations cannot be made for specific days or times, nor can payment be made through it.

Picmi Taxi will also inform users of the nearest taxi stands, indicating how many vehicles are available and how long it takes to get to them. In these spaces, taxi drivers will be able to park while waiting to receive an order from Picmi Taxi and will have priority for assignment.