RTIG helps cut costs

Centro, Vodafone, Mobius and RTIG-INFORM have worked together over the last three years to put together a more robust and more secure Private Mobile Network to support Centro‟s RTPI system. As importantly, this has also significantly reduced costs.

Real Time Passenger Information is often cited as one of the key enablers for increasing the use of public transport. Passengers need information to make the right choice before they begin their journey as well as reassurance that they are in the right place at the right time, as the journey progresses. Accuracy is vital as wrong information quickly erodes passenger confidence.

Centro is responsible for promoting and developing public transport in the West Midlands‟ seven District Councils: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. In 2009, Centro reviewed the data costs for all their RTPI on street displays, on-bus equipment and other hand-held devices to see if cost reductions could be made while maintaining the existing support from Vodafone.

Through its membership of RTIG-INFORM, Centro has access to national framework contracts secured by RTIG-INFORM following open competition under European procurement rules. Pricing through these contracts can represent a significant saving over standard voice and business rates when applied to RTPI applications.

Vodafone‟s preferred partner for Machine to Machine applications, Mobius Networks, is also a specialist in both local government in general and RTPI in particular. By working together, Vodafone and Mobius have been able to transfer the West Midlands RTPI system to a team dedicated to local government and public transport with improved billing granularity, greater security and better technical support.

One of the biggest issues with a change in mobile service providers is the need to physically swap out the SIMs in the network. Changing these SIMs in a bus fleet can be completed with a limited degree of difficulty. But street furniture – bus stops, information points, kiosks, Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and Variable Message Signs are generally remote and the cost of visiting all these sites outside routine maintenance may more than negate any potential cost savings.

By giving Mobius unusual access to the Vodafone system, this change has been completed without switching out SIMS on the hundreds of street displays around the West Midlands. This means that the connections now run over a Private Mobile Network with no internet access, making each connection isolated and secure. In addition, this will allow the introduction of fixed IP connections over mobile, supporting true bi-directional data flow from the centre to all the remote signs and buses and back.

This will allow Centro to continue to improve its offering to its customers whilst Mobius will be able to provide a fixed IP over mobile solution. This improvement is ongoing: Mobius and Vodafone will continue to support Centro as they move more of their data connections estate over, cutting costs by around 30%.
For more details on how we can help with Real Time Passenger Information projects please contact us on-

enq@mobiusnetworks.co.uk