Past, present and future on show at Switch Mobility
Switch Mobility’s vehicles at EBE demonstrate where it has come from… and where it is going
Switch took the opportunity to present its future, present and past at Euro Bus Expo (EBE) from 1-3 November, with the presence on the stand of its e1, Metrocity and Solo products.
The primary focus was Switch’s opportunity to showcase the new Switch e1 single-deck battery-electric bus to a UK-centric audience, following earlier announcements that it may come to Britain if demand dictates. The vehicle was revealed at the Paris European Mobility Expo in June.
Representing the past for Switch was the Solo product from the former Optare business. The Solo on site framed “open and creative conversations with customers about the next iteration of small electric bus,” according to Mr Moore, and has been giving customers and operators the opportunity to feed back what they love and would improve as the operator looks to the next product offering.
“That was a little bit of a different approach but something I was keen to do, as we have a presentation where we talk to the future product, with visuals that take viewers through our statement of intent for the future in that part of the market,” explains Mr Moore. “We can then frame it with the current product, so synonymous with rural bus travel and interurban travel: An iconic wheel-forward proportion, raked windscreen, and signature agility – all of those things people love about the Solo. We can effectively say what we have retained and improved upon, taking a fresh look at ergonomics, passenger experience, design elements, and battery technology.”
Mr Moore takes the opportunity to emphasise how Switch sees itself as a single-point partner in the move to electromobility for operators. “One thing that I believe people find quite refreshing about us is the conversations they can have, the ability to reach people within the organisation that have solutions to their specific problems and how forthcoming we can be with supporting them.
“Obviously, there are a lot of questions from anyone who is looking to make the change to an electric fleet. Our name – Switch – is a real statement of intent, and an acknowledgement of that journey that people are on and the perceived challenges associated. We’re that single-point partner that can help them with that process and that journey.”
Tranzaura develops digital maintenance platform further
Software-as-a-Service provider Tranzaura is developing its digital maintenance platform that captures drivers’ walk-round checks and unplanned maintenance into one that includes central management of all maintenance – planned and unplanned – in a single system.
The supplier says that its platform is already going from strength to strength in the London bus market. It accounts for an average of 113,000 items checked every day by drivers and a 55% market share for use of its app instead of paper for unplanned tasks.
Tranzaura has been present in the capital’s bus market since 2015. It adds that the “obvious” start point on the transformation journey was to digitise the driver walk-round check process and to take control of unplanned maintenance “in a way that engages end users and reduces defect reporting times.”
The enhanced product that adds planned maintenance will improve visibility of schedules, communication between drivers and engineers, and lower the cost of repairs, Tranzaura claims. It says that other benefits will include live defect reporting, photo audit trails, parts and inventory management, and full asset lifetime cost management.
With the latest step, Tranzaura has developed all end user decision support tools – for management, drivers, engineers and administrators – into a central system that is built on Microsoft Azure. Use of the Tranzaura app requires no installation at an operating centre and delivers what the supplier claims is increased efficiency, better vehicle reliability, high quality reporting and “more informed decision making.”
CEO Shane Mann has highlighted that a digitised maintenance system can result in significant financial savings. While reducing paper use and better communications form part of that, the most significant aspect is the potential to reduce spare vehicle requirements through improved planning.
Tranzaura was first introduced to the London bus market in 2013 by Metroline as part of an initial feasibility study initiated by the ComfortDelGro subsidiary. Go-Ahead London then became the first operator to deploy the platform, in 2019. Both businesses, along with RATP Dev Transit London, currently use this solution in the capital. It is also utilised by other operators outside London.
Says Go-Ahead London Chief Engineering Chris McKeown: “In 2017, we embarked with Tranzaura on a strategy designed to achieve workplace digitisation and the elimination of unnecessary paper use. We focused on two areas: The all-important daily pre-service vehicle check, and any potential defects during the remainder of the working day.
“Previously recorded via a pen and paper, Tranzaura worked with Go-Ahead London to create an intuitive app that guides our 6,000 drivers around all key vehicle checkpoints. The subsequent record is digitally uploaded onto a bespoke database and is accessible to the engineering teams at all 17 Go-Ahead London garages.”
Mr McKeown adds that the digitisation process was adopted quickly by colleagues and has enabled the operator to “demonstrate and measure compliance.” It also allows Go-Ahead London to engage with suppliers “from a greater position of accuracy and knowledge.”
RATP Dev Transit London Technical Manager Seb Harrington says that the Tranzaura app delivers “strategic long-term benefits.” It allows planning and engineering work to be tightened up as all defects are known of ahead of time. Access to defect history via a digital platform is also much more efficient than via paper, he adds.
Euro Bus Expo will be held between 1-3 November at the NEC Birmingham. Tranzaura will be on stand T58.
CPT asks: How best to use big data?
Big data can make a difference in passenger lives, but must be ‘structured and useable’
Ember Core Founder Keith Bradbury, Zipabout Chief Technology Officer Daniel Chick, and General Manager, EMEA at Optibus Dave Joshua were hosted by Confederation of Passenger Transport Cymru Director Josh Miles to discuss how big data can deliver better services for passengers.
Key to the discussion was that data kept by operators should be structured in a useful way. For Mr Joshua, who works primarily with the service bus world, data is about “understanding people and their behaviour” and adapting services and products to assist.
Mr Joshua observes that most operators do not have a data strategy, and that much data within the industry is going unused. But how data is stored and what it is used for should form part of every operator’s strategy. One example is how travel patterns have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, where data can show where peaks and troughs in ridership have changed. Data allows operators to respond to that. “Boiling it down, it’s about providing the best service we can,” he adds. “It also means, when it doesn’t go to plan, apologising. Apps and websites can deliver an interesting message. People want to take data and display it in different ways to make the passenger experience better.” He adds that being behind the curve is no bad thing, allowing the coach and bus sector to learn from the mistakes of other data pioneers.
Ember Core is meanwhile “completely data-driven,” according to Mr Bradbury. He and co-founder Pierce Glennie operate scheduled electric coach service Ember. He emphasises the need for joined-up thinking and an end-to-end approach to solve problems. The founders’ background in the financial technology world led them to “bake in” data from the start. “The data is structured to be accessible,” he says. “And we have a clear process for interpreting it.”
The architecture for that data came from hiring a software engineer early in the company’s life. Data is used to minimise traffic disruption and has been used to build demand-responsive stops, meaning routes are optimised to only pick up where passengers have booked. Telematics data is taken from vehicles and chargers and fed back to drivers, accounting for things such as headwinds, to optimise charge stops. If any service runs late, data can explain why. “It’s about instilling data in that way that it becomes useable, and not just random text in the system,” adds Mr Bradbury.