Real Betis Balompié wants to be a leader in accessible mobility

Real Betis Balompié wants to be a leader in accessible mobility

The Spanish club, with the help of Moovit and with the support of ONCE, has added another service for fans with a disability, who can now be accompanied to their seats. Real Betis Balompié, as part of the Forever Green initiative, which aims to achieve zero emissions and reduce the carbon footprint caused by travelling to matches, has taken a step forward to position itself as a benchmark in sustainable mobility.

To achieve this goal, Forever Green has expanded the scope of its collaboration with Moovit, Intel, a leading provider of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) solutions and the most widely used urban mobility app in the world, by adding ONCE. Through this application, visually impaired fans are encouraged to use public transport as an accessible and more environmentally friendly means of transport. This way, visually impaired fans or those with reduced mobility who wish to go to the Benito Villamarín stadium will be able to do so easily and intuitively. Thanks to the functionalities of the Moovit app, promoted by ONCE, such as functions to say by voice and exactly what appears on the screen, in an orderly manner and so that the blind person has all the same information through audio. It is a service that extends the special attention that Real Betis Balompié already offers to visually impaired season ticket holders so that they have a better experience during match days.

Service of being accompanied to the seat

The club offers to all its members and spectators with visual impairment an escort service to their seats. In this way, fans can be picked up at their entrance door by a Real Betis Balompié volunteer who will accompany them to their seats on match days. In addition, the club has collaborated in the implementation of the “Audio description course in sporting events”, in which students are acquiring the necessary knowledge to make sporting environments accessible to people with some kind of visual impairment. This service will soon be available at the Benito Villamarín Stadium and will allow fans to perceive 100% of everything that happens during the match.

Accessible App

The app has an audio warning system that ensures that visually impaired users have enough time to get off the bus, significantly increasing their safety on their journeys by being able to anticipate decisions.

Thanks to this accessible integration, visually impaired users only have to swipe their finger across the screen to hear the label of each button, which helps them navigate smoothly through the app and allows them to plan their public transport journeys with great ease.

,”We are delighted to work with Moovit and ONCE, initiatives that share our vision of making the world a more accessible, equitable and sustainable place. While blind and mobility impaired people are more independent than ever, getting around by public transport is still complex and overwhelming in certain circumstances such as going to a sporting event.

Rafael Muela, Manager Real Betis Balompié Foundation