Passenger information systems used to be just onboard buses. Such is the evolution of technology, it’s now much more. Consat Telematics’s latest developments in this space are reaping massive rewards for local operators and passengers.
Current insights into passenger behaviour show most of a passenger’s experience is actually offboard. It starts before a passenger has left their house for the day, or before they leave the office in the afternoon, when they want to know the best way to get to their destination ahead of time.
Consat Telematics managing director Lachlan Mackay says the company has grown its passenger information solutions to provide a wider range of capabilities for customers.
“Passenger information is now about the overall experience for a passenger that starts long before the actual bus journey,” Mackay told ABC. “Passengers now want to know well before they get on a bus what time it is arriving, where it stops and how full it is.
“People want to know all of this information before they walk out of the door in the morning.”
Mackay says this new age offboard experience is usually done via a website or app. Now anyone can create an app, and there are many public transport apps out there (Consat even has its own). But the true power comes from the data provided to the app in real-time.
Passengers now need to know a bus location, occupancy levels and, most importantly, accurate arrival times before hopping onboard. For Consat, real-time means within one or two seconds rather than a minute. It can be the difference for a passenger catching a bus just in time or missing it and having their day disrupted.
It’s this specific detail that Consat Telematics is focusing on with its latest passenger information solutions.
“One of our differentiators is that our passenger information system is a connected solution to support the entire end-to-end passenger experience,” Mackay says.
Safety is now very important for customers. Mackay says COVID proved the value of Auto Passenger Counting together with real-time bus location. This technology has allowed passengers to make an informed decision as to whether they catch a bus if it has standing room only, or instead wait for the next one.
Now as the industry emerges from COVID, Mackay says he’s seeing real-time occupancy levels are being used almost in the opposite way. Instead, passengers travelling late at night want to know that the bus is relatively full so that they feel safe before getting on.
Consat’s solutions provide this type of connected passenger info.
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Mackay says Consat has been providing this connected passenger information for many years and it has been made a standard function in North America and Europe. With passenger comfort and safety being paramount for public transport, Mackay is ensuring Consat keeps them front of mind in its passenger information systems.
“We have this great solution now because our system was built and designed for public transport from day one more than 35 years ago,” Mackay says. “It was designed for the passengers, the operator and the transport authority that oversees the public transport network.
“We still have our very first customer onboard today. It’s why we’ve ended up with a solution that is so powerful.”
Mackay says Consat’s solution still provides a rich passenger experience onboard as well through its audio-visual next stop information and accurate arrival forecasts. He says Consat’s ability to show connecting services at the next stop, disruption messages and safety alerts all in real-time separates Consat from competitors.
The other key feature Mackay says passengers love is the multimodal information for connecting services. Nowadays, many passengers have a multimodal trip. Consat has catered for this change by showing customers in real-time any connecting service like a bus, ferry, or light rail to reduce passenger anxiety.
Now Consat is going one step further. Having provided information to passengers for many years, the company is now receiving information from passengers to provide for operators. A great example of this is Consat’s Passenger Pickup. Using this system, a passenger at a bus stop using an app can signal they need special assistance if they have a wheelchair or are impaired. The next bus serving that stop will be notified that someone is at the stop and needs assistance. Mackay says this has huge benefits for passengers and for operators, who can use this feature to improve efficiencies in how they operate.
Consat’s passenger information system integrates with other third party systems such as PTA travel planners through standard and open APIs like SIRI, MQTT and GTFS-R. This enables seamless integration across systems both upstream and downstream.
With its infotainment capabilities, Consat can also combine travel information with pictures and videos. This means major event information or operator campaigns can be pushed to a bus immediately. Long gone are the days when systems need a USB to be updated. Mackay says the Consat solution allows operators to update this content remotely whenever they like.
Mackay says that whilst passenger information is the most visible part of its systems, it’s only a small section of its overall solution offerings. Many of Consat’s customers, such as bus operators, benefit from using one system for all of their operational needs. Mackay says Consat will continue providing detailed data for both operators and passengers.
“The same Consat solution enables operators to manage on-time running, alongside their voice communication system and electric vehicle data,” Mackay says. “This ensures customers get the best possible service while also increasing efficiency for operators.”