NACEX and Integra2 have joined Autonomous Ready Spain, an initiative led by the Dirección General de Tráfico (Traffic General Directorate or DGT) and the Barcelona City Council.
The project is aimed at preparing the city for highly automated vehicles and protecting pedestrians and users of two-wheeled vehicles, the most vulnerable road users in urban mobility. It involves putting into circulation over 5,000 vehicles in Barcelona with intelligent devices which warn of collisions with pedestrians and bicycles, as well as identifying risks points in the city to improve the road system and advancing the development of the autonomous vehicle.
NACEX, the parcel and express courier firm part of the Logista Group, will put at disposal part of its fleet of vehicles in Barcelona, which will be equipped with these intelligent devices. NACEX has a fleet of over 1,300 vehicles and more than 3,000 collaborators, as well as a network of 31 platforms and over 300 franchises in Spain, Portugal and Andorra.
Manel Orihuela, deputy general manager at NACEX said: “NACEX joins the Autonomous Ready Spain project, supporting the DGT and the Barcelona City Council in their commitment to road safety and the reduction of accidents in Barcelona”.
NACEX places focus on the continuous renewal of its vehicles to guarantee that its fleet has the latest safety technologies and is less than 5 years old. It is also incorporating sustainable, eco-friendly and low emission vehicles as well as reducing delivery distance by operating urban mini-hubs. The company views mini-hubs as a highly efficient solution. In Barcelona, 12 NACEX franchises already operate as urban mini-hubs and the company plans to open more facilities of this type.
Integra2 is the Logista Group’s network for temperature-controlled last mile transport, specializing in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Integra2 has a fleet of over 1,500 vehicles and over 2,000 collaborators, as well as a network of 60 delegations in Spain, Portugal and Andorra.
Integra2 focuses on renewing its fleet with eco-friendly and low emission vehicles, including gas- powered vehicles (GNC and GLP), hybrids (HEV) and electric vehicles, like high capacity refrigerated mega-trailers which are used for long distance routes.
Pablo Rebollo, general manager at Integra2 said: “Integra2 will add to the project 60% of its last mile delivery fleet in the city of Barcelona”. Within a year, the number of ECO-kilometres run has increased by 66.7%. NACEX and Integra2 can reliably measure and report the CO2 emitted.”
The Autonomous Ready Spain project already had 300 vehicles and 85 urban buses in Barcelona equipped with artificial vision cameras, interpreting the environment and sending real time acoustic and visual alerts. The agreement signed will incorporate the new vehicles and fleets from NACEX and Integra2, which, together with new technology-equipped buses from TMB, will form a “secure fleet” of over 700 vehicles by the beginning of 2020.
Source: Logista Group
