INIT is getting ready for IT-TRANS: focus on Ticketing-as-a-service, e-bus planning, artificial intelligence

At UITP-backed exhibition IT-TRANS in Karlsruhe, from 14 to 16 May 2024, INIT will present the enhancements in its modular planning, scheduling, telematics and ticketing system, MOBILE. IT-TRANS will be one of the most prominent transit-related expo in 2024 in Europe.

The focus will be on solutions that enable public transport companies to increase their operational efficiency, automate their processes and ultimately reduce the workload for their employees. This can help create the financial opportunities to make further improvements in service quality.

IT-TRANS 2022, bringing together 276 exhibitors from the ITS, ticketing and MaaS world was a success, taking home record numbers: 800 delegates at the conferences, 6,500 visitors to the exhibition, 276 exhibitors (as noted above), 71 participating countries, 28,000 square meters of exhibition space (doubled from 2018), and 58 members of the international media.

Efficiently introducing and deploying e-buses

Even before the first e-buses are purchased, various deployment scenarios should be simulated and the effects on investments, operating costs and operations should be assessed, INIT states. Only in this way can investments and operating resources be utilized as efficiently as possible to gain the maximum efficiency: “This is made possible by the simulation module of the eMOBILE-PLAN planning solution. It can be used in advance, to determine the public transport company’s most appropriate charging concept and identify suitable blocks for the use of e-buses. Even in the introductory phase, when only minimal practical experience or none at all has been gained, simulation provides further important findings to help minimize risks and use existing e-buses as efficiently as possible”.

eMOBILE-PLAN is part of the comprehensive eMOBILE product suite. This includes the extension of the eMOBILE-ITCS Intermodal Transport Control System, which, together with the MOBILErange range forecast, enables precise knowledge and monitoring of the state of charge and remaining range. The suite also includes the depot management system eMOBILE-DMS, which ensures the optimized provision of e-buses and cost-efficient charging processes, and the charge management system MOBILEcharge, which enables and implements cost-optimised charging strategies.

What about Ticketing-as-a-service

TaaS, INIT’s SaaS-based sales channel, makes ticketing easy – for passengers and public transport companies alike. Passengers will be able to pay for their ride by simply tapping their bank/credit card or smartphone on a ticket terminal when boarding and alighting (check-in/check-out). Their travel authorisation is then secured contactlessly using the cEMV process (credit card manufacturers’ public transport application). INIT’s background system ensures that they always pay the cheapest fare.

Public transport companies can quickly introduce the cloud-based solution hosted by INIT, the IT provider stresses: “They simply set the tariffs they want to offer via this sales channel using a browser application, which also gives them permanent access to their sales and turnover figures. The platform processes all the payment transactions, without any further intervention required. Public transport companies can also offer the software-as-a-service solution as part of a target group orientated multi-channel strategy in addition to an existing ticketing system, thereby reducing cash handling and increasing the efficiency of their sales processes”.

Increasing efficiency through artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are important “drivers of innovation” in INIT systems. INIT’s MOBILEguide crowd and occupancy management solution also benefits from this. Using a process that has been patented, the system not only takes into account the current vehicle occupancy rate, but also the number of passengers expected to alight at the respective stops, resulting in more reliable information than was ever available with previous solutions. 

Focus on incident management

Assistance systems as well as the automation of processes are extremely suitable in order to increase work efficiency. Both methods are utilised by RESPONSEassist, INIT’s automated incident management and multi-channel passenger information system. It generates the passenger information for all channels automatically on the basis of predefined texts – tailored to the individual demands of the individual channel – and facilitates the distribution to all channels with a single click. This allows dispatchers to focus on their core competence – incident management. But also in this respect RESPONSEassist provides a completely new level of support: incidents can be resolved much more efficiently using standard operating procedures stored in forms than with conventional methods. The operating documentation is automatically created at the same time.