Aparcaments BSM

The Barcelona City Council will approve a new special urban development plan which will allow car parks to incorporate areas for logistics and the provision of services 

The measure will help to optimise urban goods distribution, while also freeing up public space 

This consolidates the pilot tests of this type of activity promoted by Barcelona Municipal Services (BSM) in its network of car parks  

Barcelona City Council has started processing the ‘Special Urban Plan for New Activities in Barcelona City Car Parks’. This new regulation aims to ensure that short-stay car parks can house other activities in addition to vehicle parking. 

The text primarily provides for car parks to be used for activities such as loading and unloading, the delivery of goods and activities related to the collection of small packages. This includes micro-distribution points where lorries and vans can unload packages, which are later delivered by more sustainable vehicles, along with delivery lockers from where online purchases can be collected. 

Barcelona is thus consolidating the pilot tests of these types of activities promoted by Barcelona Municipal Services (BSM) in its network of car parks. By doing so, it is regulating and promoting services such as the almost 50 Click&Collect points, the eight goods micro-distribution centres and Barcelona Markets’ four refrigerated delivery lockers which can now be found in different BSM car parks. 

The extension of these types of initiatives will lead to a lower occupancy of public thoroughfares, given that many packages can be delivered to a single point. It also ensures greater efficiency by lowering the number of kilometres that distributors have to travel, which reduces pollution and noise. Furthermore, it does away with empty vehicle returns, because the packages are left where consumers will collect them, and if they don’t they can more easily be returned using the carrier's regular route. 

Concentrating the distribution of goods in car parks also allows for deliveries at off-peak times or at night, reducing both any nuisance caused to residents and road congestion. 

The text also regulates other services already operating in the car parks, such as electric vehicle charging, battery swapping stations and the installation of ATMs and vending machines. 

After its initial approval, the new regulation will begin the process towards definitive approval with a period of public information and the corresponding citizen participation process. 

This deterrent, daytime-use, low-cost car park now has over 400 places, following completion of work to adapt the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital’s old heliport 

This is a pioneer model for all car parks run by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) to help reduce traffic in the city centre by providing connections between car parks and public transport or other means of sustainable transport  

Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) is increasing the number of deterrent parking places on offer in the city. Located in Pg Vall d’Hebron, B:SM Basic Park Vall d’Hebron has just doubled its parking capacity and now has 413 places. The increase in number of places follows completion of work to adapt the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital’s old heliport. 

This pioneering B:SM car park is designed to dissuade drivers from accessing the city centre by car and encourage more sustainable mobility. One the one hand, because of its proximity to metro lines L3 and L5, TMB buses, Bicing public bike hire stations and also shared scooter or bicycle services, and, on the other, its parking charges. 

B:SM Basic Park Vall d’Hebron is open Mondays to Sundays, from 7 am to 10 pm, with entry allowed up to 8 pm. The maximum permitted stay, and only during daytime, is 12 hours, at a costs of 9 euros. Drivers can pay by using the SMOU mobility services app or a bank card in the validating machine located at the exit. Unlike B:SM’s other car parks, this one has no cash points and does not allow cash payments. Monthly subscriptions for daytime parking are also available for people from outside Barcelona working or studying close to the car park.

B:SM, promoting new urban mobility 

One of B:SM’s main aims is to help to improve mobility in the city, making it more sustainable, healthier, more efficient, better connected and with more sharing. Which is why B:SM has been running several digitalisation and innovation projects to transform the concept of parking in the city and meet the city’s key challenges: reducing environmental pollution, saving time and optimising public space.

B:SM is currently working on a new concept of car parks to turn them into mobility services centres providing much more than vehicle parking and making them friendlier, more functional environments for people accessing them by car, moped or on foot. Notable features include advances such as providing 3G and 4G coverage in all car parks, which have now also been prepared as for the arrival of 5G; expanding the Endolla Barcelona network, which now has 490 car park charging points; incorporating Biciparks; or equipping 30 car parks with Click&Collect points and a further eight with micro urban goods distribution centres.

The Serveis Municipals (BSM) electromobility network, Endolla Barcelona, is testing a system for scheduling the recharging of electric vehicles in BSM car parks to make the most of the hours when energy demand is at its lowest

This smart energy management measure is part of Endolla Barcelona's commitment to contributing to a more sustainable and efficient energy transition 

Endolla Barcelona has more than 650 charging points distributed throughout the city, and by early 2023 will have fifty more 

The Serveis Municipals (BSM) electromobility network, Endolla Barcelona, is launching a pilot project for scheduling the recharging of electric vehicles in car parks within the BSM network, to make the most of the hours when energy demand is at its lowest. This initiative is part of Endolla Barcelona's dual aim of supporting the development of electromobility in a sustainable way, and promoting innovative projects that focus on challenges such as smart and efficient energy management. 

The pilot project is soon to be launched in the BSM Porta de Sarrià car park, located in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district. When an electric vehicle user parks in front of one of Endolla Barcelona's charging points, they will need to access SMOU, the Barcelona personal mobility services app, and scan the charging point's QR code. The user can then choose either to recharge their vehicle immediately or to schedule a recharge. If choosing the latter, they need to indicate the day and time they intend to pick up the vehicle and the desired charge level in the battery. In this way, vehicles can be charged during off-peak hours. In other words, when energy demand is at its lowest. 

Besides contributing to a more efficient use of energy, the recharging of vehicles during off-peak hours means monetary savings for Endolla Barcelona users. The current pricing policy for the service already incentivises use at times when energy consumption is lower. 

This pilot project is part of the eCharge4Drivers programme, a European project co-funded by the European Union as part of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, in which Barcelona is participating through the Endolla Barcelona network. The aim of this European project is to improve the experience of electric vehicle users by reducing charging times, deploying the necessary infrastructure in a sustainable way, and developing smart, easy-to-use charging points. 

According to the Councillor for Mobility, Laia Bonet, “this project is another example of the leadership that Barcelona is demonstrating in the field of electromobility through Endolla Barcelona. Apart from creating an extensive infrastructure throughout the city, we're also working in partnership with other institutions and with the sector on the challenges that must be addressed if we are to ensure a smart, efficient transition to electromobility”.  

Barcelona, a leader in e-mobility in southern Europe, with Endolla

Boasting more than 650 charging points distributed with a high capillarity throughout the city, Endolla Barcelona is the Spanish State’s biggest public electro-mobility network. This network continues to grow, with some fifty new charging points due to be launched by the start of 2023, representing an investment of 600,000 euros. 

There are currently 6.5 points per km2 distributed throughout the city’s neighbourhoods, with one charging point for every 11.4 electric vehicles and a service availability of 97%. Added to all the other public charging points, these figures make Barcelona the second European city in terms of number of charging points per km2, after Stockholm, and fourth in number of points per resident, after Stockholm, Gothenburg and Oslo.

Given Endolla Barcelona's aim to contribute to a sustainable and efficient energy transition, 75% of its charging points are located in BSM car parks, thereby freeing up public space and promoting planned off-peak, off-street charging and offering an efficient network to people without charging points at home or at their workplace. The remaining 25% of the points on the street are fast charging to promote sporadic, unplanned and low-occupancy uses of public space.

This is a project financed with funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, financed by European Union – NextGenerationEU.