ADAC Postbus underway with IVU.suite

IVU delivers complete IT system for the new transport company

Since the start of November, twenty-four cities across Germany have been connected by coach services provided by ADAC Postbus, a company owned jointly by Deutsche Post and the ADAC motoring association. The services are to be gradually increased over the coming months, so that by spring 2014 some 30 of Germany’s largest cities will be connected by a fleet of 60 modern coaches. The IT systems for the operations of the new coach service company are from IVU. Components from the IVU.suite have been supplied for planning and control centre operations, as well as for online booking and passenger information services – all of this running from a high-availability computer centre. And because the coach service and ticket sales of ADAC Postbus have to be available round the clock, IVU guarantees reliable 24-hour operations.  

The time plan for the project was an ambitious one. In only five months, all the systems were to be installed and configured in accordance with the customer’s wishes. With the use of tried-and-tested standard products such as IVU.plan this was no problem for IVU’s engineers. And in only a few weeks’ time the components for the passenger information service will also be going into operation. IVU.cockpit will be installed on the Android smartphones of the coach drivers and will transmit the positional data of each coach to the central IVU.realtime server. This calculates any delays and passes the information on to the operational control centre. At the same time, the passengers will also be kept informed via the company website, www.adac-postbus.de.

It was also possible to agree on additional new requirements and to implement these without delays. For example, IVU.ticket.shop was developed for the sale of tickets. This is a completely new booking system offering four separate channels for ticket purchases. Passengers can now use the on-line shop, visit one of the many ADAC centres or post offices, phone a call centre, or buy a ticket on-board directly from the driver. It is also possible to reserve a preferred seat. The new central background inventory administration system IVU.fare.inventory ensures that the ticket prices for all vending channels are calculated accurately in accordance with the tariff, with the additional possibility for dynamic price control which takes the utilisation rate into account. The background system also administers not only bookings for journeys and seat reservations but also charges for additional travel options such as bulky luggage or a bicycle.

“The start of our new coach service has gone really smoothly. Systems and vehicles were ready to start operations punctually despite the extremely short lead time to completion,” comments Dr Joachim Wessels, Managing director of ADAC Postbus, on the successful market entry of his company. “The services are already meeting with a positive reception. Due to the effective planning and control of our vehicles and the flexible new ticketing system we are well-equipped for a stepwise expansion of our fleet over the coming years. I am pleased that with IVU.suite we have found a powerful software solution from one source to help us to achieve our objectives”.

Madlen Dietrich
Corporate communications
IVU Traffic Technologies AG
Bundesallee 88, 12161 Berlin, Germany
Tel 49 30 85906-386
E-mail: Madlen.Dietrich@ivu.de
www.ivu.com

IVU Traffic Technologies AG has been working for more than thirty-five years with some 350 software engineers to ensure that transport in the world’s major cities operates reliably and on time. People and vehicles in expanding cities are continually on the move – a logistical challenge which calls for intelligent and reliable software systems. The standardised software products of the IVU.suite and tailor-made IT solutions are used to plan, optimise and control the scheduling of vehicle fleets and personnel. Other systems support the choice of branch locations or ensure that election results are determined correctly.
IVU. Systems for vibrant cities.