LIVING IN SPAIN? HERE’S THE MAGIC NUMBER!

by Rose Maramba

Need to file a complaint with the police? Pay traffic ticket? Ask for information about immigration procedures? Public employment? The weather? Terrorism? Appointment for Electronic ID cards and passports? Call 060. The Ministry of Territorial Policy and Public Function (Ministerio de Politica Territorial y Función Pública) has integrated 250 different information phone lines of the Central Government’s administrative offices and citizen services in that one number. That’s almost ANYTHING under the (Spanish) sun!

The good old days when the Internet wasn’t even a pipe dream and there was only telephone but no telephony.

The move is owing to the need of the Central Government to streamline resources and services.

The 060 hotline is a smart telephony platform that offers a specialized information service 24/7 all year round, allowing people to be attended to directly in a centralized fashion. When necessary, callers will be passed to specialized operators for specific matters.

The latest services obtainable on 060 are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ consular emergency and crisis service; the supply of information on processes and services offered by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; and the helpline for people who are affected by Brexit.

The magic number will be fielding an estimated 11 million calls a year.

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Images
Featured image/Charley Pangus, Unsplash. Partial face blot-out supplied
Old telephone (in the Georgia Rural Telephone Museum)/Todd Van Hooser, CC BY-SA2.0