Huge opportunity for a fresh start

Regensburg has chosen MOBILE-ITCS nextGen in the cloud for this new start. “The task of operating servers ties up employees and requires comprehensive cybersecurity expertise”, underlines Deputy Operations Director, Heribert Kalteis. This is why the decision was made in favor of the cloud solution. das Stadtwerk.Mobilität has already had positive experiences with its charge management tool for electric buses. The public transport company is therefore planning to move even more solutions to the cloud in the future.

In Regensburg, they are confident that with the newly acquired ITCS they are well-equipped for the future and upcoming technologies. Sandra Schönherr and Heribert Kalteis think, for example, that the introduction of AI-based tools such as direct language translation for drivers is easier to realize in the cloud. They emphasize that in Regensburg, they need a system that is capable of mapping the unforeseeable developments that may lie ahead. For example, autonomous vehicles may have to be integrated at some point. The INIT solution is the ideal way to prepare for future scenarios and it can be adapted to incorporate additional modes of transport as needed. 

MOBILE-ITCS nextGen will be closely linked to various other systems. The public transport company has been using the MOBILE-PLAN planning and data management solution and the MOBILE-PERDIS personnel assignment system for several years. The staff in the control center benefit from the integration of the programs, as they not only have to manage operations, but also to deploy the buses. For example, they manage vehicle assignments with MOBILE-PERDIS and charge management for the electric buses. According to Sandra Schönherr, the strategy is for employees to “work together more communicatively with fewer screens”.

Other aspects also went in favor of MOBILE-ITCS. Sandra Schönherr emphasizes that it was important for the company to have efficient diversion management: “We have a large number of lines that have to be broken at terminal stops for diversions. Many system manufacturers found it difficult to efficiently update the route band in the software in these cases. With MOBILE-ITCS nextGen, this works perfectly in the line display.” The aim was to quickly and clearly see several lines with their stops next to each other and to use this display to directly initiate dispatching measures and send driver messages without having to open additional windows.

One of the solutions that das Stadtwerk.Mobilität uses to make travel easier for passengers and support control center staff is RESPONSEassist, the system for automated multi-channel information and incident management. The solution sends automated passenger information via various media. Sandra Schönherr explains that the system is ideal for informing passengers quickly, efficiently and effortlessly about last-minute timetable changes, for example. The control center does not have to also inform drivers and enter the same message into a number of different systems at the same time. Instead, important information can be disseminated quickly, whether via an app, social media (Instagram) or various DFI displays.

This fresh start is not just about software. das Stadtwerk.Mobilität is equipping its entire bus fleet with new COPILOTpc3 on-board computers and TOUCHmdt control units for the drivers. In addition, they implement PIDvisio 29 ultrawide DFI displays, which give passengers detailed information about alternative stops in the event of diversions, but also show advertising, news or infotainment programs. Including the subcontractor buses, all 150 vehicles will be fitted with new on-board hardware. A test run with all vehicle types is currently underway.

Sandra Schönherr is certain that “Something great will come out of all this. At das Stadtwerk. Mobilität, 300 people will be working on it and will feel the improvements – drivers, admin staff, workshop staff, the whole company. We are really looking forward to it.”