Successful project completion could enhance sustainability in public transport (ÖPNV).
For one year, twelve Master’s students from the University of Oldenburg, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jorge Marx Gómez, Barbara Rapp, and Cedrik Theesen, worked on their information management system to improve real-time forecasting for public transport (ÖPNV).
The project has now been completed and was presented in a Corona-compliant manner via Microsoft Teams to the VLBA department at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg and the partner company AMCON from Cloppenburg.
The project group ROCIT developed a system designed to make work easier for bus operators and improve delay forecasts. Environmental factors, events, and weather were also taken into account. The group had access to two servers, used a total of 23 software services, processed over 1,200 tickets, generated 2,100 gigabytes of data, and invested 10,000 working hours. Prof. Dr. Marx Gómez was impressed: “The group’s result is outstanding, and the idea of such a system could transform the sustainability approach in the bus industry.”
Reliability makes public transport attractive and boosts climate protection.
The goal of the group was to develop a system with the potential to simplify the work of bus companies and improve predictions of delays caused by traffic jams, rush hour, or disruptions due to events. To achieve this, the project team maintained regular communication with the bus companies, who also provided real-time data for the project work. Climate protection, punctuality, and reliability were central to the conception and implementation. The result is a system that is unique in the market in this form. Precise predictions could encourage more people to switch to buses instead of using their private cars. “Delays are often a reason why passengers are dissatisfied with public transport and choose to drive instead. We are convinced that improved forecasts would fundamentally increase passenger satisfaction. That’s why we are very impressed by the group’s project work,” praised Olaf Clausen, CEO of AMCON.
User-friendliness and Data Analysis Put ROCIT on the Path to Success
Final conclusion of the group after twelve months of project work: The information management system ROCIT offers real added value for bus companies in the area of data analysis. In terms of user-friendliness and interface design, the tool is also far ahead of other products already available on the market. The COVID-19 pandemic did not hinder the successful completion, even though half of the project time was spent working from home and all coordination and meetings had to be held digitally. The publication of a short paper at the EnviroInfo2020 conference in September further emphasizes the scientific value of the project. The Research and Development department at AMCON will continue to pursue this topic.