Innovative Info with INIT's LIVEavl solution

Meet us at BIC National Conference

Join us at BIC National Conference 2025 – Australia’s premier bus and coach event. Meet our team at Crown Perth Convention Center, 29–31 October, and talk about the future of public transport!

It is essential for public transport companies, authorities and operators to track and monitor their entire fleet in real time, know about possible delays and provide passengers with up-to-date information on arrivals and departures. INIT provides you with an easy to understand, modular, web-based solution that gives supervisors and dispatchers a thorough overview of their en route vehicles provides driver communication and reporting and gives passengers accurate real-time information on their trips. LIVEavl and LIVErtpi are modules from INIT’s LIVE suite.

Track, monitor and dispatch your fleet with LIVEavl

map of Helsinki showing live tracking of buses and live departure information for passengers

(c) INIT | iStock

LIVEavl provides your supervisors with reliable real-time information on your fleet. The solution supervises all vehicles and displays them on a computer screen, allowing your dipatchers/supervisors to always know where their buses are in the network. Vehicle positions are shown by a colour coding system that makes it easy to detect if vehicles are ahead or behind schedule. Users are also able to interact with this system to search for buses and stops to receive more information on departure, speed and punctuality. If there are deviations from the planned route, an alarm is visually shown on the display. Supervisors can quickly react to these alarms and, in case of obstructions, they can manage deviations with the solution so all vehicles will safely reach their destination. If there is a situation that asks for immediate support on location, the supervisors can navigate staff to the vehicle in need of help, all while communicating with the driver to manage the disruption. A key advantage of LIVEavl is its versatility. With this agile and scalable CAD/AVL solution, bus fleets of just about any size can be tracked. LIVEavl uses a variety of data sources to determine the vehicle information. Its GTFS interface allows companies to store and modify planned timetables, while a GTFS-RT open data interface gives third parties real-time information as open data. The system can then combine this real-time data with detailed scheduled information to calculate departure times based on planned timetables and real-time locations, as well as historical statistics.

Customers do not have to deal with their own servers but only need web access. They receive LIVEavl in the form of a subscription, just pay a monthly fee, eliminating the need for large upfront investments.

Shane Bedford

Business Development Manager

map of Helsinki showing INIT's solution providing a constant exchange of data between parties

A main part of the system is the constant communication between the vehicles and the control centre via the solution. For many CAD/AVL systems, the investment in and installation of extensive hardware is indispensable, both in the vehicles and in the control centre. LIVEavl allows for a different approach with its cloud-based technology. Vehicles can be equipped with an Android smartphone or tablet to make this connection if there is no data transmitting hardware like an on-board computer installed. If you give the drivers these standard devices with the LIVE Driver terminal application, both drivers and operators can be sure of a perfect data flow and are guaranteed seamless and stable communication with the control centre, which includes real-time notifications and messaging features. Just like an on-board computer, the GPS positioning transmitted is also very accurate.

Efficient Software-as-a-Service solution

A major benefit of the system is its ease of use and cost efficiency through Software-as-a-Service (Saas). SaaS means that INIT cares about the backend and maintains the software. You will not have to deal with your own server, but only need web access. Your supervisors only need computers with an up-to-date web browser, with the user interface being customizable to different needs. You will receive LIVEavl in the form of a subscription and just pay a monthly fee, which eliminates the need for large upfront investments.

Passenger information with LIVErtpi

LIVErtpi is designed to meet your passengers’ needs by providing precise real-time departure information accessible on their mobile devices, your website, or passenger information displays. The information is available on standard web browsers for both desktop and mobile without requiring additional installations. The system automatically detects the device type and optimises the view accordingly. Public transport companies can customize the display with their official design, including colours, fonts, and logos.

Passengers can easily see when their bus, train, or tram will arrive, find out about transfers and changes, and get real-time updates for each stop to adapt their travel plans as needed. The system also displays the nearest stops on a map, and for a selected stop, it shows the locations of vehicles serving the stop along with upcoming departures in a table format with real-time predictions. Any deviations are immediately visualized and made visible to passengers.

On your website, passengers can get an overview of all routes, departures, and individual stops. Additional information about their trips, including visualized vehicle locations and real-time departure times, is provided. You can include notes to quickly inform them of any incidents. Dispatchers and supervisors can create and broadcast updates to keep passengers informed about temporary changes, with the exact visualized information displayed to passengers.

To predict upcoming stop arrivals and departures, the system uses static data from planned timetables, routes, and stops in GTFS format, combined with a minimum real-time data set from vehicles, including GPS and trip identification information. Advanced algorithms enhance prediction accuracy by analysing this data alongside real-time locations and collected historical data.

This comprehensive passenger information system also includes virtual monitors, with each stop having its own web page displaying real-time prediction departure times. These virtual monitors can be configured for use on bus stop shelter displays or by third parties in bus terminals, lobbies, shopping centres, theatres, and cinemas, ensuring passengers are well-informed throughout their journey.

Due to LIVE’s modular structure, you can always enhance your chosen solution by adding optional modules. One valuable addition is the Vehicle Registry, which allows you to manage vehicles and their parameters, including passenger capacity, emission category, and accessibility information. There is also a fully tailored, in-depth online reporting tool with over 20 versatile reports that help you make proper decisions for the future. Departure data is stored for two years from the trip departure, so the reports and gathered data can be of indispensable help while creating a future timetable. Included are, for example, punctuality reports (with all departures and their punctuality performance), driving time reports (with all departures and the driving time from the first stop to all subsequent stops), statistics reports and a list of non-registered trips (with the departures that were not registered by the system). Further options and new functionalities may be added based on customer requirements.

A system for everybody

PUBLIC TRANSPORT PROVIDERS: LIVEavl empowers each department within your organization by granting them access to pertinent real-time data and patterns. This enables intelligent transportation management.
DRIVERS: LIVEavl ensures driver success by providing real-time punctuality information, removing any guesswork from their tasks. It enhances reliability and flexibility through seamless communication between the driver and operator, along with continuous monitoring of vehicle locations.
PASSENGERS: LIVErtpi ensures customer satisfaction by consistently providing timely and reliable services, along with precise, up-to-date information pertaining to departure times, stops, and any changes to the schedule.
PARTNERS: LIVEavl / LIVErtpi can be used in combination with a wide range of INIT and third-party solutions and effortlessly connect with open data sources, ensuring compatibility and flexibility in implementation.