Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – mobility of the future
IT-TRANS 2022 to showcase innovations in urban mobility
“MaaS is all about placing the user at the centre of transport services and offering them mobility solutions that are tailored to their individual needs”. This is how the European Mobility as a Service Alliance describes the MaaS approach. This is based on a combination of all available modes of transport, giving passengers a flexible, simple and seamless travel experience – all at the push of a button and without using their own vehicles. Users receive real-time information in an app, where they can also book and pay for the transport option that best suits them. At IT-TRANS 2022, which has been postponed to the new date from 10 to 12 May at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre, numerous companies will showcase their innovations and present their vision for mobility of the future.
Tailored, efficient and environmentally friendly mobility with Hacon and Siemens Mobility
Intermodal routing across various modes of transport enables tailored, efficient and environmentally friendly mobility. Whether as a native app or web app, the majority of the applications offered by IT-TRANS exhibitors Hacon and Siemens Mobility deliver much more than just the bus or train connections of a single provider or transport association. The Mobility Marketplace makes it possible to combine databases from multiple providers and deliver them via a single platform. This gives passengers a comprehensive and sustainable transport service that is the perfect alternative to driving their own cars. Different modes of transport are combined to form an intermodal door-to-door transport chain. This can include public transport, on-demand services, private transport, car/bike/scooter sharing providers, taxis, bicycles and even footpaths. As a result, users can easily create the combination that works best for them. All aspects of the journey are covered, from information and planning to ticketing, payment and the journey itself.
Capacity forecasts for greater safety in public transport
Unlike long-distance transport, urban public transport services have no reservation data to rely on. Based on big data technologies and self-learning algorithms, Siemens Mobility and Hacon have developed a software solution for forecasting passenger numbers. This has been in use since September 2020 at the Rhine/Main Regional Transport Association (RMV), which transports over 800 million people every year. It is a perfect example of how public transport has reacted quickly and effectively to the challenges posed by Covid-19. The forecast is based on both ticket sales and connection queries from RMV’s information service. This makes it possible to predict the short-term capacity utilisation on trains and buses. In addition, the self-learning algorithm takes predictable external influences like construction work and major events into account. The data is used on a completely anonymous basis and cannot be traced back to the individual user.
Central management of intermodal public transport services with mobility portal®
vedysis, a company from central Germany, will present its newly developed mobility portal® at IT-TRANS. The mobility portal® gives public transport companies a platform that allows them to connect various modes of transport, integrate on-demand services and provide new ticket types. This aims at using multimodal mobility services to successfully revolutionise transport. The service is aimed at municipal governments and transport companies that want to further expand their public transport networks and offer flexible door-to-door services to attract and retain customers. The mobility portal® connects various multimodal public transport services, such as buses, trams, electric scooters, bike sharing, electric cars, and park and ride.
This allows municipal governments and transport companies to digitalise public transport and benefit from seamless front and back-end processes. Passengers can select their preferred means of transport via the front end of the mobility portal®. The search, booking and payment functions work via a website or app. Transport companies can benefit from smooth real-time data transfer in CRM, ERP, etc. The platform also starts certain specified workflows automatically. On top of this, the mobility portal® flexibly integrates various transport services, such as new routes, pricing models or modes of transport, into the existing public transport infrastructure. This makes it quick and easy for providers of on-demand transport services to join the transport revolution. An easily accessible customer service with multilingual tools is another decisive part of creating a positive customer experience. In the mobility portal®, customers can interact with transport providers in various languages and around the clock.
The mobility portal® also analyses data from multiple sources to identify sales opportunities and cancellation risks. Using AI-based algorithms, it generates targeted service offerings that are then advertised to various target groups automatically via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or online news outlets.
MENTZ GmbH to present the new MaaS app Gullivr
Technological innovations from the Munich-based IT firm MENTZ have long been a feature of IT-TRANS. This year, the family-run company will present the latest addition to its GENIOS product family. The tried-and-tested GENIOS programme integrates the latest research from artificial intelligence, evolutionary algorithms and graph theory. “Integrated optimisation with GENIOS enables perfect planning for electric buses, services and routes, as well as precise deployments and connection planning”, explains CEO Christoph Mentz.
MENTZ will also present the latest generation of its ticket shop for smart e-ticketing. The CiBo (check-in, be-out) ticketing system will make public transport more convenient and therefore more attractive to passengers. As a provider of MaaS solutions, MENTZ reliably connects the existing sharing services of external mobility providers via interfaces, before integrating them precisely into its customers’ apps. Real-time information from the MENTZ electronic timetable delivers a quick overview of shared mobility services or parking capacity at the destination. Christoph Mentz is especially looking forward to presenting the new MaaS app Gullivr. “We are setting new standards here in user experience and lean design. Gullivr covers every aspect of modern, multimodal mobility: MaaS, planning, booking and payment. The thing we are looking forward to most of all though is finally being able to meet in person again with our customers.”
