Stadtwerke Münster turns to IVU IT technology to tackles shortage of drivers

German public transport operator Stadtwerke Münster chose to rely on the IVU.suite, helping to counter the shortage of skilled labour. Last year also Stadtwerke Solingen had chosen IVU to achieve a standardized management of all bus operations.

The local minicipal company from Münster and IVU have been working together for many years, including in the areas of ticketing and control centre. Münster Stadtwerke uses IVU.cloud for technical operations management, including hosting.

Stadtwerke Münster works with IVU.suite

Digitalisation and automation offer great potential in personnel and vehicle planning. Stadtwerke Münster has implemented a solution for this with the IVU.suite that enables smart and resource-saving trip, vehicle working and duty scheduling. The duties are not only created in accordance with the regulations and contracts, but the needs of the drivers are also taken into account, IVU points out in a press note. 

The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) assumes that the industry needs to recruit up to 8,000 drivers in local public transport and short-distance rail passenger transport every year. “The issue of skilled labour shortages is also high on the agenda at Stadtwerke Münster. That’s why our focus in the project was on being able to guarantee a high duty quality for our 260 bus drivers, combining efficient personnel deployment with the option of using many flexible parameters when creating duties,” says Frank Gäfgen, Managing Director of Mobility at Stadtwerke Münster.

 “Personnel shortages already repeatedly lead to disruptions in local transport companies, necessitating last-minute adjustments to the timetable. The IVU.suite supports transport companies in meeting these challenges,” says Dr Hanna Schachel, Head of the Public Transport Division at IVU Traffic Technologies. “Our intelligent algorithms for duty optimisation not only leverage potential savings and increase the quality of duty schedules, they also ensure the social compatibility of duties. We are delighted that we were able to convince Stadtwerke Münster of the benefits of our integrated standard solution.”