In this interview granted to our blog, Pedro González highlights the role of the association he presides, the Association of Friends of the EMT and the Bus (AEMTBUS). Its purpose is to disseminate the historical aspects of tram and bus transport, highlighting the links between these means and the evolution of cities and promoting their future dimension. AEMTBUS is made up of public transport enthusiasts from the Community of Madrid. In the interview, González also highlights our company’s contribution to the bodywork industry in Spain.
1.- What kind of activities and actions do you promote from the association?
Preserving industrial heritage is preserving a part of a society’s history. The association has been working in recent years to locate and recover historical material that, in most cases, belonged to the company and was often not in the best condition.
We currently carry out activities focused on this material to keep it in working order and prevent it from becoming a static piece. On the other hand, we promote actions aimed at disseminating the history of the EMT, as well as knowledge of other operators and companies related to the sector.
2.- In your opinion, what are the main challenges facing the Spanish urban transport sector?
Efficiency is and will increasingly be fundamental in all aspects. Efficiency in terms of operators, having to manage services and fleets with a limited amount of resources, but also efficiency in terms of the bodywork industry, for which it will be increasingly important to offer comprehensive products, with alternative fuels and that are also internationally competitive, since exports are essential for survival.
3.- What role has the bodywork industry played in the development of urban transport in our country?
Spain has always had an important bodywork industry, which has brought wealth, innovation, and employment to the country, and which has been able to meet the sector’s needs in times when imports had strong restrictions, now facing the challenge of competing in a globalized market.
4.- How is Grupo Castrosua perceived from AEMTBUS?
If we had to define Grupo Castrosua’s trajectory with one word, it would be quality. Quality for the passenger and driver, both in finish and comfort. Not in vain, since the EMT received the first orders with the Pegaso 6050 – almost 40 years ago – it has been common for the company’s drivers to have positively received the assignment of vehicles bodied by you. We hope that future efforts such as Vectia will represent a continuation of your quality applied to technologically advanced products.
5.- What do you consider to be the most effective policies for promoting the use of public transport?
In line with what we discussed earlier, efficiency will increasingly be important. What is less efficient, like the automobile, is giving way (for example, with restrictions on its use in city centers) to public transport, which must play a fundamental role.
To improve this efficiency, it is very important to make it easy for the traveler to use public transport with various types of measures, such as access to it (for example, with park-and-ride facilities next to interchanges on the outskirts of cities), complementarity between different means of transport through ease of physical connection between them, coordination of schedules, and fare integration between them.
We thank Pedro for his willingness to collaborate. It has been a pleasure!
