Data collection & analysis for Swiss tariff associations and transportation companies
Around 20 networks and 250 transport companies offer passengers in Switzerland travel options by train, streetcar, bus, ship or cable car.
Switzerland's public transport system is unique in the world. And it is an impressive success story. There are many reasons for this: on the one hand, public transport is characterized by comprehensive coverage in the most remote valleys and regions. At the same time, tailor-made tickets and customer-oriented offers from the fare networks as well as the GA/Half Fare Travelcard guarantee a high level of comfort. Swiss public transport is extremely popular with the population and tourists and has a constantly growing share of the modal split. At the same time, public transport makes a significant contribution to reducing overall CO2 emissions.
The Swiss tariff associations organize the public transport structure of the regions
Switzerland's fare networks organize great services on a daily basis and form the counterpart to national direct transport at regional level. Together with many transport companies, they offer passengers a common fare for a specific area. The fare networks act on orders from the federal government or cantons and organize transport services together with the transport companies.
There are currently a good 20 regional transport and fare networks in Switzerland. A distinction is made between pure season ticket associations, which offer monthly and annual season tickets valid regionally or locally in their area, integral fare associations, which also sell individual tickets in their area in addition to season tickets, and transport associations, which act both as service providers and as service purchasers.
The transport companies guarantee the transportation services
Public transport companies are responsible for transporting passengers on trains, buses, streetcars, boats and cable cars. Every day, over 250 companies of various sizes in Switzerland ensure that passengers reach their destinations safely, punctually and reliably. This includes not only the drivers, but also many other professional groups working in the background.
The transport companies, the dense service and the well-developed network of Swiss public transport offer punctuality and reliability in all parts of the country. Public transport is therefore a key economic factor and part of the public service.
Travel data as basis for public transport services
The continuous collection of high-quality travel data is an essential part of designing public transport services and operations.
Service optimization & transport planning: By analyzing travel routes and passenger kilometers, transport companies can better adapt their services to the needs of passengers. This leads to a more efficient use of resources and an improved timetable.
Revenue transfer: In open public transport systems, as is common in Switzerland, it is important that revenue is correctly allocated to the respective transport company that provided the journey. This applies to national and regional fares. The collection of vehicle-specific journey data (NDE) enables a fair distribution of revenue (EAV revenue sharing).
Increased attractiveness: The data obtained can be used to make public transport even more attractive. For example, real-time information on delays/disruptions, capacity utilization/occupancy can be provided or safety or lost & found services can be offered, leading to even greater customer satisfaction. Location-based services, which allow passengers to be targeted for surveys during a journey, are also high-quality methods of information acquisition.
Competitiveness: The analysis of travel data helps to strengthen the competitiveness of public transport compared to other modes of transport.
Swiss public transport - Optimal beacon infrastructure
Forward-looking sector planning guarantees that Swiss public transport is now a global leader in modern digital infrastructure.
Public transport in Switzerland has always been considered to be of extremely high quality by international standards. This is due to criteria such as punctuality, network density and service density, safety, cleanliness, customer information and value for money.
Nationwide public transport beacon network
In 2023, the Swiss public transport industry implemented a unique nationwide project: Almost all means of Swiss public transport were equipped with certified WavePointer beacons (radio transmitters) and thus "post-digitized". This provides the ideal basis for the quick and easy collection of travel data for a wide range of digital services, for example:
- Car-specific passenger usage data: Journeys & route chains.
- State-of-the-art Be-In/Be-Out (BiBo) & CiBo services for passengers.
- Accurate capture of signed real-time data.
- Location-based targeting of passengers via push messages.
- Situation-based surveys (surveys).
- Maximum data protection through "public transport-only recording".
- Modern tariff offers (consumption-based, ABT, ...).
- Integration of customer loyalty/motivation systems.
WavePointer Beacons: An integral part of Swiss public transport since 2023
WavePointer is a Swiss developer, manufacturer and supplier of IOT technology. Since 2023, WavePointer RailTAG beacons have been mandatory retrofitted in almost all means of transport in the Swiss public transport sector. These devices are now an essential part of the Swiss public transport ecosystem and form the basis of many current and future services for over 250 transport companies (CiBo, BiBo, ABT, GA usage data collection, customer loyalty and bonus programs, climate calculators, real-time data, occupancy and load measurements, etc.) WavePointer is also a long-standing partner, certified and audited supplier of international rolling stock manufacturers & railroad operators, such as Alstom, Bombardier, StadlerRail, Siemens, SBB, SNCF, Deutsche Bahn.
More information at: www.RailTAG.com
WavePointer eJourney App: Modern travel data detection with BiBo
With the eJourney app, passengers can automatically document their journeys and travel chains on public transport within the Swiss fare networks. Journey recording in a digital travel diary in real time with full GDPR data protection. The data is collected and displayed in real time using the Be-In/Be-Out method (BiBo) - i.e. without any action on the part of the passenger. Data is also only collected when the passenger is "on public transport" - i.e. not 24/7, not at home or when shopping, for example - public transport only! This saves both the data volume and the battery consumption of the smartphone. The app technology is tried and tested and immediately available to accompany a fare network's survey campaigns. The app offers attractive features for passengers, mileage-based journey logs, climate calculators, general and position-dependent questionnaires and options for connecting bonus and customer loyalty programs.
More information at: www.eJourney.app
WavePointer eCloud: High-end industry solution for data intelligence
With the WavePointer eCloud, Swiss fare networks receive a professional public transport industry solution for analyses and data insights for simple, secure and immediate use.
The solution provides ready-to-use modules for the wagon-sharp signed recording of passenger/travel data (usage data/journey recording), the performance-based determination of revenue sharing (EAV), location-based passenger surveys, transport planning as well as professional data analysis and data intelligence.
The high-end platform is industry-proven, certified, multi-client capable and meets all Swiss data protection and EU GDPR requirements. The highly scalable platform architecture and security, the algorithms and AI models as well as the support of public transport industry standards are state-of-the-art.
More information at: www.eMobility.rocks
Kick-start through practical experience
Many international projects in the field of public transportation enable WavePointer to contribute precise, in-depth and long-standing industry knowledge as well as enormous practical know-how. These prerequisites provide the excellence to meet a kick-start guarantee.
WavePointer knows how important it is to offer customized solutions for industry processes without having to carry out long and complex project planning. Individual requirements are ideally implemented via configurations and micro-services.
If you are a transport association or transport company planning a digitalization measure to record and analyse travel and usage data, then WavePointer your contact person.
