The future of Public Transport: Digitalisation enables more freedom of travel and individual tariffs

Current public transport tariff offers often price passengers' tickets according to concepts that are not always easy to understand for laypeople and are sometimes even disadvantageous. In addition, transport companies and transport associations handle this quite differently in national practice - internationally anyway. This can deprive passengers of the desire and motivation to use public transport more.

There are already an incredible number of passengers traveling on public transport every day - both privately and professionally. But the social and political wish is clear: even more people should be encouraged to use public transport regularly - for good reason. It should be natural, simple, spontaneous and affordable for every person to become a passenger in a means of transport: whether it be a train, bus, subway, tram, ship or even a mountain railway.

Public transport should be the first choice for personal mobility

The ambition behind this is to create a new, simple, customer-oriented and barrier-free tariff world that contributes to even more attractive and more frequently used public transport and an increase in the public transport share of the modal split - at least nationwide, perhaps even internationally ! There are several options to achieve this goal:

A Single Ticket (subscription ticketing)
Simply get on the bus, train and boat of local public transport (ÖV) and use a single ticket to travel across local or long-distance transport, for example drive the entire country without having to worry about fares, zones or times of day. National examples of this are the General Subscription (GA Switzerland), Deutschlandticket (D-Ticket Germany) and Klima-Ticket (Austria). In all cases, the basis for this is a subscription ticket purchased in advance by the passenger, which covers all trips in accordance with the General Terms and Conditions. The passenger can set off spontaneously at any time and no longer has to worry about buying any ticket in advance.

A Digital Tariff (post-pricing)
What could a tariff system look like if all passengers kept a digital travel diary? The digital tariff (post-pricing) provides the answer to this. All of the passenger's journeys are recorded digitally and billing is based on the journeys made and tariffs developed specifically for this purpose. For the passenger this means: a very simple individual tariff, attractive price plans, flexibility and security. In Post-Pricing (not to be confused with Post-Payment), the effective consumption of passengers is continuously measured (taxameter/digital travel diary). The individual price plans then continuously adapt to the respective consumer behavior or mobility needs. So the existing range is not used, but a suitable range is created. The following features usually also characterise a digital tariff: 

• Payment for the actual amount travelled
• Billing also over different time periods
• Reward for frequent use
• Additional savings offers
• Simple and comprehensible price

The options mentioned are not mutually exclusive. In practice, it often makes sense or is necessary to combine several options in order to meaningfully support people's motivation and individual needs.  Subscription ticketing, be-in/be-out solutions, post-payment and post-pricing, for example, are used today.

However, all of these exciting approaches have one thing in common: The digitalization of the infrastructure.

Without the appropriate conditions having been created, such sensible and necessary relief for passengers - nationally or internationally - cannot be addressed or implemented.

WavePointer digitizes public transport sustainably

WavePointer digitises public transport in Switzerland and Liechtenstein

In 2023, the Alliance SwissPass, the Swiss public transport industry association,  launched an incomparable initiative to further digitize the transport infrastructure in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. By using high-tech wireless technology (RailTAG.com Beacons) from WavePointer.com, the quality of usage & Survey data from and for transport companies can be taken to “a new level”. An international tender was held at the end of 2022, in which WavePointer was selected as the best product.

In the future, all Alliance SwissPass members will be able to receive basic data about their level of usage, based on anonymous real-time data collection in their vehicles/means of transport. This provides, among other things, a reliable basis for the distribution of income (from subscription tickets) and the introduction of new tariff models (post-pricing) - secure, usage-based, automatic and everywhere. 

In addition, this technology can also be used for other applications in the future, such as control forecasting, improved Internet in vehicles, clean & Repair, load measurements, car sequencing and guidance systems, extended customer information, passenger services, be-in/be-out, post-pricing (pay-as-you-go) or support for people with reduced mobility.

"The start as well as the implementation of this supranational project has our utmost respect and puts Switzerland and Lichtenstein in a - also globally seen - unique situation", explains WavePointer. "Switzerland will thus further meet the ever-growing importance of public transport, but also the challenges to be overcome in the process, through the holistic and early introduction of digital infrastructure. We are very pleased to be involved in this exciting project with WavePointer technology. We are also convinced that other countries, especially in Europe, will soon follow this example."

WavePointer develops and produces the technology of the radio beacon infrastructure in this project - coordinating and supplying directly the more than 250 transport companies of the Alliance SwissPass each with thousands of hardware and dedicated roll-out support. An optimally organized procedure enables the smooth equipping of the public transport vehicles of two entire countries - based on a high volume of devices via "plug & play" installation and within only a few months. A prime example in terms of quality, performance, production and schedule coordination as well as innovation. 

All vehicles of Swiss Federal Railways SBB and PostBus AG are also included in this project and will be equipped by the end of 2023. This means that the new services will be available almost nationwide in Switzerland and Lichtenstein in the future.
 

A technical and logistical masterpiece

Public transport is provided by a multitude of different means of transport and traffic. Every day, thousands and thousands of trains, streetcars, ships, buses and gondola lifts are tirelessly at work to reliably bring millions of travelers to their destinations. In 2019, people in Switzerland covered around 16.6 billion kilometers on trains, buses and ships. In 2040, the Federal Office for Spatial Development expects around 33.6 billion passenger kilometers in public transport.

WavePointer technology not only fulfills the demanding radio communication services in the project on a technical top level for years and 24/7, but also supports the certification requirements for every type of vehicle used in the public transport environment. When it comes to passenger transportation, the highest standards of safety and reliability apply technically. In addition, the WavePointer devices are also subjected to considerable stress over many years. They must be able to operate at altitudes of 3500 m and in extreme cold or heat, as well as on ships or in long tunnels through the Gotthard.

In addition, a very tight schedule was required to supply the nearly 300 transport companies involved, almost simultaneously, with tens of thousands of devices at different locations and to enable simple and safe installation. WavePointer had just over four months of time from production to delivery. An enormous effort in demanding times (geopolitics, supply chain, etc.), but one that was mastered with flying colors.

"A company that masters such a large project is a reliable partner in the field of building digital infrastructure. Other countries will - once again - take their hats off to this Swiss public transport innovation when this digitalization step will play out its obvious advantages. The fact that Switzerland has put its trust in WavePointer technology for this is the greatest appreciation we can receive as a company" explains WavePointer.