The Challenge
Reliability is of the utmost importance to public transport passengers. They need to be able to rely on getting to their destination on time. Timely information on timetable changes or disruptions are therefore crucial for a positive customer experience.
Due to our extensive experience on similar projects, Eraneos was asked to support Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV) in updating and improving the software it used to collect and transmit disruption information to passengers in Zurich. We were also involved in a pilot project launched at the same time, which aimed to expand the exchange of disruption information between public transport companies to the whole of Switzerland.
“We were very satisfied with the open and transparent communication. Important points were always addressed immediately, neatly and dealt with in a timely manner.”
The approach
The project started with the upgrade of the company’s HAFAS Information Manager (HIM) software solution. The previous system was outdated and had to be migrated to the current version 4.0.
Around the same time, the Customer Information System Tasks (SKI) office and the Federal Office of Transport (BAV) jointly launched an initiative intended to enable the exchange of disruption information within public transport at a national level. The aim of this pilot project was to provide a central, Switzerland-wide networked data hub (DDS) for all passenger-related disruption information and it allowed transport companies to inform their passengers about planned and unplanned disruptions on all public transport across Switzerland.
Since a standard for exchanging fault information, called the VDV736 interface, was used for the transmission of fault information to the DDS, Eraneos was able to help ZVV not only upgrade its HIM software but develop the interface between HIM and the DDS.
With more than 670 million passengers a year, Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV) is the largest transport association in Switzerland. It takes on strategic planning and coordinates public transport in Zurich for more than 30 Transport companies across 162 municipalities. ZVV uses the software solution HAFAS Information Manager (HIM) to inform its customers promptly and correctly about planned (for example, construction sites) and unplanned (such as accidents) operational disruptions. This software now allows it to inform the affected passengers about such disruptions via digital communication channels such as the online timetable, ZVV app push messages, and Twitter, for example.
The result
For this project, Eraneos was able to successfully upgrade ZVV’s HIM software. This has also helped to provide Swiss public transport with more high-quality customer information so ZVV and its partners could further develop the DDS, creating better disruption information and making it a more useful product over the coming years.
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