In recent years operators have installed numerous on-board devices and systems on their vehicles.
On-board technologies such as wi-fi, PIS and CAD/AVL systems disparately send and receive data over-the-air, in pursuit of improved passenger experiences and operational efficiency.
These systems bring their own costs, so it’s understandable that operators are looking to reduce the amount of additional hardware on board their vehicles, and to realise further operational efficiencies through centralised management of on-board technology.
Icomera, best known as the industry-leading supplier of passenger wi-fi, has spent the past two years working with the Information Technology for Public Transport initiative (ITxPT) to establish cost-efficient practices for plug-and-play IT systems in public transport. Operators will benefit from less duplication of functionality between technology suppliers and greater cost-savings through mutualisation.
Dave Palmer, MD of Icomera UK gives one example: “As plug-and-play standards become more widely accepted we’ll see the passenger wi-fi platform being used to support communications for other on-board services.”