Here we bring you Radek Novotny, CEO of About Me, a bus operator in Prague.

Thanks for joining us Radek, can you please introduce yourself?

About Me started in 2009 as a bus operator to service regular urban lines in Prague. Now operating within the Prague Integrated Transport system (PID), we currently service seven regular routes with a fleet of 40 buses covering 2 million km annually. We are competing to expand our business to other cities. I am also involved in the new strategy compliant with the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, implementing general cost optimization programs.

Prague has a population of 2m with a further 1.5m commuting into the city using 200 buses and the underground. While this is smaller than Singapore or some Indian cities, it is quite big for Europe in terms of scale.

How does real-time information benefit your operations?

We have worked with Ridangos subsidiary LIT to implement real-time information with its accurate ETA prediction engine and Papercast e-paper passenger information displays.

Our dispatch controllers are now completely dependent on real-time information. They know when vehicles are leaving, where they are on route and if they are delayed. They can monitor what is happening in the online portal without needing to phone.

It is very efficient and may sound simplistic relative to where other countries are right now, but this real-time information is a big advantage for us.

Tell us more about how it has improved the passenger experience?

The standard in the Czech market is to focus on the delay and so providing accurate arrival predictions presents a huge pivot point for mobility. This significantly improves the service quality for passengers – for them to have reliable information on when the bus will arrive and how long the journey will take. It changes the perception of services and the emphasis away from the delay, and in doing so creates a more positive experience.

The system also helps with complaint handling. We have historical information that shows us the on-time performance of every service, so we know if a bus was late or running to schedule. This also helps us to continually optimize service planning and improve service quality.

We aim to continue to improve the service and expand to a multi-channel approach in the future.

What are the channels currently available in Prague for passenger information?

The data from our buses are connected to the central data warehouse for the public transport authority. Along with all other means of transport in the city, this is provided to passengers via a mobile app and on the website for desktop users.

Just to note again, the standard here is to provide the current delay, rather than the estimated time of arrival. There is still room to improve the way this is presented and the quality of the information in my opinion.

We also provide real-time arrival information and other travel information at bus stops on energy-efficient e-paper displays.

How important are accurate real-time predictions?

We are penalized for both early and late arrivals and so the emphasis is on realistic and optimized planning. Together with LIT, we now have accurate ETA data to do this property, which is a huge step forward in the Czech market.

This has helped us to improve service quality and the passenger experience drastically. This is in our interest because occupancy is another important measure, and happy passengers bring more happy passengers.

Are you planning any on-demand services in Prague?

I am operating services in other Czech cities that are an evolution of the standard intercity bus. In rural areas with low demand, people can request a bus on-demand.

In Prague, we will operate any assignments we are able to get but I am not aware of any in the foreseeable future, there is no plan for this in Prague right now. In other areas, there are minor parts of the system where it does not make sense to operate a scheduled bus service. This is where an on-demand bus services would be a valuable solution.

A huge thank you to Radek for giving us a view into his world and for his valuable insight.

The private transit operator has transformed this congested megacity towards a sustainable future. Commuting by public transport is now a favourable and pleasant experience, thanks to smart transport solutions using technology from Ridangos Slovenian subsidiary LIT Transit.

Mwasalat Misr is now providing a service comparable with the world’s leading transportation systems, in an environment where proper infrastructure was completely absent.

Mwasalat Misr: “The transit management system from Ridango immediately helped us to provide a significantly better service with more streamlined and controlled operations.

We now have control over schedule adherence, which has improved punctuality and drastically limited dwell time for passengers. We achieved a 3.4 minute mean absolute variance from trip start, which is phenomenal given Cairo’s traffic conditions. By monitoring headway, we can make real-time adjustments, which has had a direct positive reflection on revenues.

The speed of the transformation has been staggering. Ridango simplified what started out as a complex project with a solution that was easy to implement. Their systems show a deep understanding of public transportation and there is a willingness to do what it takes to make a project successful.”

Mwasalat Misr is a leading privately-owned Egyptian public transport service covering the Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area.

THE BACKGROUND

Public transport in Cairo is complex. There are 20 million rides per day via shared public transport, with 13.5 million citizens travelling by bus (the remaining using the metro, ferry or taxi services). This includes standard full-sized bus services or minibuses run by the Cairo Transport Authority, smaller private bus operators and privately-run minibuses.

Unfortunately, bus travel in Cairo typically fails to meet expectations for reliability, comfort and safety. A road network burdened with very heavy traffic, inadequate fleet, infrastructure and operational best practice has made bus travel a frustrating experience for users.

THE GOALS

Mwasalat Misr mission is to be the provider of choice for customers and a model of excellence for the industry. In doing so, it recognized a gap in the market and the opportunity to transform bus services across the city.

“Previously, Cairo lacked infrastructure that would be considered standard in other cities. There weren’t any fixed routes, bus stops or even schedules, and any technology was basic where it existed. We had to completely reinvent bus travel to give us an edge in the market, also at a time when fares are escalating due to hikes in fuel prices.”

The aim was to offer a more attractive alternative to competing bus and minibus services, while tackling what the operator calls the ‘Middle-Class Paradox’. It wanted to empower commuters to rely on public transport rather than traveling by car or taxi.

Mwasalat Misr knew it needed to take its fleet management to the next level.

THE SOLUTION

With a new air-conditioned smart fleet and a range of value-added services to improve passenger comfort, Mwasalat Misr recognized that technology would underpin its ability to offer a modern urban transportation system.

“The city was ready for a new customer-centric era of mobility. We put the wheels in motion to become the first public transport provider to introduce smart mobility technologies in Egypt.”

Mwasalat Misr needed to replace its existing fleet management system with a more advanced, intelligent platform. It partnered with Eazy Mobility, Cairo’s specialist mobility system integrator, who helped to deliver the vision using the transit management system developed by Ridangos subsidary LIT Transit.

“The transit management system offers best-in-class CAD/AVL functionality, while being easy to deploy, hardware agnostic and fully scalable. Their system is designed to enable next generation transit environments and shows a deep understanding of the services that operators need to deliver to meet future passenger needs.”

We provide comprehensive operations and fleet management toolset using data imported from the existing transit operation back end. The system offers complete visibility of activity and performance across the entire network in real-time, aggregated in an intuitive dashboard format. Users can drill down and interact with a wide range of monitoring indicators. They can analyze performance against best practices, review historical data and generate detailed insight reports.

The platform also incorporates advanced prediction algorithms. The technology generates the most accurate arrival predictions, in real-time and in an open data format. It can also automatically analyze data accuracy for every element of the transit network.

THE OUTCOMES

Embedding this technology into Mwasalat Misr core business operations has significantly enhanced performance, lowered costs and increased profitability. Ultimately, it has resulted in a much better service experience, on a par with other cities around the world, which has improved the attractiveness of public transit in Cairo.

The new platform improved controllers’ situation awareness, command, control and decision-making capabilities. This led to rapid resolution of critical success factors that experienced ongoing difficulty. For the first time, the operator had control over schedule adherence. This improved punctuality and drastically limited dwell time for passengers, achieving a 3.4 minute mean absolute variance from trip start. Additionally, by monitoring headway, Mwasalat Misr could make real-time adjustments which have had a direct positive reflection on revenues.

Amidst fuel price hikes, Mwasalat Misr has maintained its position as a superior service provider offering trip prices lower than rivals. This is largely down to the operator’s ability to more efficiently manage its fleet of 592 buses through 52 fixed routes, with defined schedules and bus stops that are visible online.

The system from Ridango generates real-time open data in GTFS format which feeds into passenger information systems. Amongst the many firsts, Cairo was the first city in Africa and the Middle East to become available on Google Transit.

“For the first time in Africa, our customers can plan their trip in advance. They know when their ride will arrive and how long their journey will take in real-time, through our award-winning trip planning platform and mobile app.”

With the intelligent prediction algorithms developed by LIT and embedded into the platform, the real-time passenger information generated is very accurate.

“The excellent AI incorporated into the system has helped us to provide accurate arrival predictions, which keeps passengers happy and has resulted in an increase in ridership. This is quite an achievement given Cairo’s heavy traffic. It takes into consideration the traffic patterns at different times of year, days of the week and time of the day. This helps us to adjust schedules to maintain a steady service.” 

Mwasalat Misr has also linked its CAD/AVL data with Cairo Metro, enabling it to extend its reach beyond the metropolitan area with multi-modal journey planning.

THE FUTURE

As the first to introduce smart mobility technologies in Cairo, the city can look forward to a more sustainable future where public transport is a favorable, pleasant experience. In partnership with Eazy Mobility, Ridango continues to support Mwasalat Misr with new functionality.

“Thanks to the smart mobility technology from Ridango, we are firmly at the forefront of digital innovation in public transport in Egypt. In fact, Africa!”

Mwasalat Misr strives to be a model of excellence for the industry, there is potential for other cities in Egypt and across Africa to adopt these more advanced approaches to public transport.