Engineering, one of the world's leading companies which accompanies and guides public and private companies in the Digital Transformation, and Moovit, the no 1 app for public transport, which may be found in over 3,000 cities in 94 countries worldwide and is used by over 625 million people, have signed a collaboration agreement which places on the market an innovative solution for the management of fleets used for public transport, which will benefit citizens and businesses.
Engineering, thanks to its ability to develop and govern the most innovative technologies, has integrated Moovit's TimePro product - the real-time vehicle tracking system - into an AVM solution which includes an onboard application and a vehicle computer capable of acquiring vehicle diagnostic data and of interacting with the different systems on the vehicle (internal and external indicator panels, passenger counting systems, electronic ticketing, video surveillance and any other device capable of interacting with external systems). Engineering's AVM solution also manages information systems for ground users (electronic poles, SMS text message services, multimedia kiosks, email, IVR) which are added to the communication channels already provided by Moovit (APP and WEB). Through the implementation of these technological solutions, TimePro (previously classified as AVL - Automatic Vehicle Localization) becomes part of an even more advanced solution (Automatic Vehicle Management) and responds to the increasingly specific and complex requests of customers.
"With more than 600 million users using our app, we know what the priority is for public transport travelers: certain and reliable waiting times at bus stops” - says Alon Shantzer, VP International Sales of Moovit – “We are proud to collaborate with a company such as Engineering and to be able to offer the TimePro solution as the engine of an innovative AVM system to define accurate waiting times for each vehicle. Engineering is a key partner for us and we are excited to continue working with them to help public transport users reach their destinations more efficiently".
“We are particularly proud to have developed this solution alongside a company like Moovit” stated Carmine Rossin, Director of the Transportation & Infrastructure Business Unit of Engineering. “We are convinced that through the integration of our know-how with that of Moovit, we will provide companies and citizens with a solution which can concretely contribute to the evolution of the local public transport system, which is a key aspect of the livability of cities and of their sustainable development”.
“The AVM solution from Engineering powered by Moovit” explains Andrea Mastinu, Sales Manager of the Transportation & Infrastructure Business Unit of Engineering “is positioned at the highest technological level for this type of system. The choice to use an onboard device based on Android technology wishes to ensure maximum flexibility in terms of evolution and future developments thanks to the native predisposition to interconnection which allows to interface with latest-generation external devices, sensors and components. The collaboration between Engineering and Moovit has given rise to a complete and efficient offer which ensures that transport companies gain value from their fleet management system and that people’s travel experience on local public transport is safer, smoother and more evolved thanks to an even more complete and timely flow of information”.
This gives transport companies a number of other advantages in addition to being able to locate their vehicles.
First of all, in terms of fleet and personnel management, they have a tool which simplifies the driver's daily activities. The automatic association of the service to be carried out (called "dressing") on the basis of its identification through credentials or identification badges, allows the on-board equipment to automatically drive the internal/external indicator panels and, where necessary, the ticketing system, thus avoiding the need for any intervention by the driver.
Moreover, the acquisition of data from the vehicle integrates the information already processed by Moovit with a series of indicators which allow the system to analyze in greater detail the performance of the service and the flows of users, reporting this information for a thorough analysis that allows companies to improve their offer. All this also makes it possible to define dynamic strategies aimed at optimizing and streamlining the planning of routes based on seasonality and the evolution of user habits.
This precise type of analysis perfectly meets the reporting requirements of the calls for tender issued by the Public Administration for local public transport management contracts.
The evolution of the service, finally, brings a real value for citizens as well as for tourists who use local public transport for their trips. In fact, through all the Moovit information channels (via web portal, apps, poles, text messages and multimedia kiosks), the transit times of vehicles at the stop and of subsequent arrivals can be consulted.
The collaboration between Engineering and Moovit will be extended by integrating the Engineering group's mobile payment technologies into the Moovit solution. Thanks to this integration, the Moovit platform will be able not only to convey multimodal mobility information updated in real time, but will also be able to provide the booking and sale of services via APP for smartphones, creating a complete MaaS (Mobility as a Service) platform.