Metropol Group began operating in the Metropolitan Mobility Network in December 2022, following the tender promoted by the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (MTT), and therefore becoming the first operator to land in the capital after the launch of the Metropolitan Transportation System 15 years ago.
All of this has been carried out hand in hand with ALFA & OMEGA, the companies created by the group to operate on the allocated zones of the RED transportation system in Chile. These zones are service units 1 and 2, each of them with 24 routes. To make this possible, they have a fleet of 645 operational buses at their disposal, of which approximately 300 are electric, and their entire planning is done using Goal System’s tools.
One of the most important challenges that we assume in this project is to obtain a joint planification of the electric and diesel buses fleet, considering the specific restrictions and operational parameters of the vehicles, shifts, batteries and recharging points.
For this purpose, we are beginning to use the GoalBus tool for the electrical module and GoalDriver for the assignment of the drivers, with the goal of achieving the perfect operational adjustment:
- With electric GoalBus the operation is programmed including different types of buses, shifts, chargers and batteries, as well as the capacity of the recharging points, the management of battery autonomy and recharging times, obtaining more efficient and sustainable operations.
- With GoalDriver the assignment of the personnel is optimized, whether they are drivers or other professional profiles working in shifts, as well as their assignation, improving the operation’s efficiency and the quality of life of employees.
ELECTROMOBILITY IN CHILE
One of Chile’s commitments was to achieve 100% electric public transport by 2040. In accordance with this, the fundamental axes to advance in electromobility will be focused on adding electro-corridor projects in several cities of the country and incorporating the additional infrastructure required by electric buses, such as charging terminals.
These aspects will be key to be able to implement in this period projects such as the Double Zero Transport pilot, which involves testing an emission-free and free public transport system in three cities of the country.
The truth is that this ambitious project is being achieved because, at the time, only in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, 13% of public transport buses are electric, allowing this city to establish as the one with the largest electric fleet in Latin America, and one of the most extensive worldwide.
