Santiago de Chile introduces Optibus AI-based software to manage public transportation system citywide

Optibus, an artificial intelligence operating system for public transportation, has been chosen by SONDA S.A., a contractor of the Directorio de Transporte Público Metropolitano (DTPM) of Santiago, as the official planning, scheduling, and EV management software for all buses across the city, with the goal of enhancing and optimizing public transportation for Santiago’s seven million residents.

Santiago de Chile has been the 1,000th city in the world to choose Optibus, the cloud-native planning, scheduling, rostering and operations platform for mass transit, in early 2022. Latest add in Optibus offer is the Driver App.

According to a recent study by Centro Mario Molina Chile, together with the ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator) partnership of C40 and ICCT, the economic competitiveness of electric buses resulted in a TCO 32% lower than the TCO of their diesel counterparts.

Optibus selected in Santiago as official fleet management software

Established in 2013, the Directorio de Transporte Público Metropolitano (DTPM) oversees the city’s bus network, which consists of nearly 7,000 buses, including more than 2,000 electric buses, operated through 11 concession contracts. With more than 950 million annual passengers, this expansive bus network stretches across the thirty-four municipalities of Santiago Province and the communes of Puente Alto and San Bernardo, home to 40% of Chile’s total population. 

Santiago de Chile was the first in the region to have a single integrated ticketing and fleet management system and is one of the largest electric bus fleets in the world outside of China, making Santiago an international pioneer in the decarbonization of public transportation, as Optibus states.

Using Optibus’ Planning, Scheduling, and EV management products “will help elevate Santiago’s public transportation system to new levels of sustainability, efficiency, and convenience. Leveraging optimization algorithms, cloud computing, and advanced data analytics, Santiago’s bus operators the Optibus platform will enable more effective, faster bus scheduling and management across the city’s public transportation operators”, in the software company’s words.

“Optibus is pleased to be selected as the planning, scheduling, and electric bus software of Santiago’s metropolitan public transportation system, one of the most innovative and advanced transportation systems in the region. Advanced planning and operational software is the foundation of any efficient and modern public transportation system. We are honored to provide our technological support and infrastructure to make Santiago’s bus network more efficient, reliable, and sustainable, improving the environment and residents’ quality of life,” said Álvaro Iriarte Sanderson, Optibus’ Regional Director for the Southern Cone.