IVU Traffic Technologies

IVU AG publishes Annual Report 2011

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:40:00 +0100

Revenue increased by 2% to € 39.9 million, EBIT up by 8%

IVU Traffic Technologies AG experienced another record year in 2011. Annual revenue rose by 2% to € 39.9 million. Gross profit increased by 3% to € 30.4 million, passing the 30 million mark for the first time. Over the same period there was an 8% growth in EBIT to € 2.9 million. An indication of the good performance of the company is also the equity ratio of 61%. IVU is continually developing and the prospects for the coming year are positive.
With its ‘IT systems for vibrant cities’, IVU has its finger on the pulse of the times. IVU recognised the trend towards increasing urbanisation at an early stage, and has benefited from this insight in its product development The Berlin software company offers a scalable system, capable of meeting all the requirements of transport companies, including those in the steadily expanding major cities. As a result of the success of IVU in 2011, updated departure times for 8,500 buses at 19,000 stops in London will be accessible on electronic displays, via the Internet and on smart phones. Another important success was achieved in Jerusalem, where IVU solutions are being used for the planning and optimisation of city transport, and orders have already been received for further modules.

“There is unbroken demand for forward-looking IT solutions for public transport worldwide. And with its successful international projects, IVU AG is one of the leading system suppliers”, comments Martin Müller-Elschner, CEO of IVU Traffic Technologies AG, concerning the future prospects of the company. “Mobility is the driving force of the economy. In the coming years there will continue to be large investments in this sector.”

The complete annual report with notes is available under http://www.ivu.de/investoren/publikationen/2011.html

Contact:
Madlen Dietrich
Corporate Communications
IVU Traffic Technologies AG
Bundesallee 88, 12161 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49 30 85906-0
Fax: +49 30 85906-111
Email: Madlen.Dietrich@ivu.de
www.ivu.com

IVU Traffic Technologies AG has been working for more than thirty years with some 300 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, support the choice of branch locations and ensure that election results are determined correctly.
IVU. Systems for vibrant cities.

IVU User Forum: Cloud computing and electro-mobility in public transport

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:07:00 +0100

400 participants from all over the world discuss future concepts

This year’s User Forum of IVU Traffic Technologies AG on 12 and 13 March once again focussed on the growing demands for mobility worldwide. Four hundred participants from 16 countries travelled to Berlin to listen to lectures, contribute to specialist discussions, and to inform themselves in the parallel exhibition about the deployment of IT systems in public transport and about new functionalities. There was unanimous agreement that modern mobility has to be efficient and sustainable, but at the same time must offer high standards of passenger comfort.
These challenges were addressed in the introductory key-note speech given by Prof. Adolf Müller-Hellmann, Chair of the VDV-Supporters Circle. Electromobility is not only a topic for private transport, commented Prof. Müller-Hellmann. In view of the constantly growing demand for mobility at a time of dwindling energy resources, it is also necessary to think about new systems for powering public transport, he continued. The efficiency of public transport systems means that they already make a significant contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions. The goal must be to further extend this environmental advantage. Processes of change should be started now if they are to have a timely effect, concluded Adolf Müller-Hellmann at the end of his informative overview of the development of the mobility of tomorrow. The series of talks ‘Fit for the future with the IVU.suite’ was correspondingly well visited. Among other topics, information was provided about the use of modern technologies such as cloud computing. This will make it possible in future, for example, for Transport for London to provide real-time data for external users, who will then be able independently to develop new smartphone applications for passenger information.

In his presentation on passenger information and e-ticketing, Dr Claus Dohmen, department head of IVU Traffic Technologies AG explained how cross-border strategies in public transport are also becoming increasingly common. In border areas, the demands for shared data needed for passenger information and ticket sales are particularly high, Claus Dohmen continued. Thanks to new technologies, passengers will soon no longer need to know all the details of the various tariff systems. In future they will only need a single chip card to use public transport across borders. All the calculations, including for example the question of the cheapest tariff options, will be made by the software systems.

At the end of the first day of the User Form, the participants were invited to attend a dinner evocatively located in the tunnel of the planned extension of the U-Bahn underground rail line under Potsdamer Platz. There was ample opportunity to exchange ideas with representatives from transport companies from all over the world. The participants from all countries were in agreement that modern technologies offer the key to sustainable mobility in the future.

Contact:
Madlen Dietrich
Corporate Communications
IVU Traffic Technologies AG
Bundesallee 88, 12161 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49 30 85906-0
Fax: +49 30 85906-111
Email: Madlen.Dietrich@ivu.de
www.ivu.com
IVU Traffic Technologies AG has been working for more than thirty years with some 300 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, support the choice of branch locations and ensure that election results are determined correctly.
IVU. Systems for vibrant cities.

IVU News, Issue March 2012

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:12:00 +0100

Rail competition

Neues IVU-Design unter den Top 100

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:36:00 +0100

Als eines der 100 besten Relaunch-Projekte weltweit wurde das neue IVU-Design mit dem ‚Rebrand 100 Global Award 2012‘ ausgezeichnet.
Mit einem modernen Unternehmensauftritt zeigt die IVU jetzt auch nach außen ihre Leistungsstärke und Kompetenz. So vermittelt ein neues Logo auf einen Blick den Tätigkeitsschwerpunkt des Systemherstellers, indem bewegte Linien den Bezug zu Netzen, Gleisen und Strukturen herstellen. Frische Farben stehen für Innovation und moderne technische Standards. Mit dem neuen Motto ‚Systeme für lebendige Städte‘ kommuniziert die IVU die Zukunftsausrichtung ihrer IT-Lösungen. Denn die Produktentwicklung ist ganz auf die kommenden logistischen Herausforderungen der stetig wachsenden Millionenmetropolen ausgerichtet. Mit der Umsetzung des Design-Relaunch war die Berliner Agentur PLEX GmbH beauftragt. Beide Unternehmen freuen sich über die Auszeichnung und die internationale Aufmerksamkeit für die innovativen Lösungen aus Deutschland.

Government of Colombia honours IVU AG (Kopie 1)

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:29:00 +0100

German software house receives order of merit for contributions in the field of the environment and society

Intelligent software solutions for public transport and the reduction of environmental impacts are key objectives of IVU Traffic Technologies AG. For its efforts in Colombia, the Berlin software house has now been awarded the Gran Cruz Extraordinaria Orden al Mérito Ambiental Barón Alexander von Humboldt. This environmental order of merit is in recognition of the contribution made by IVU to the reduction of CO² emissions in the major metropolis of Cali. In addition, the order of merit honours the initiation of the Geomatica Andina, an annual trade congress dealing with the influence of computer science on the development of the living environment of tomorrow. In an official ceremony in the Colombian parliament on 15 February, the head of IVU’s local branch Dr Claudia Feix received the order of merit in the presence of the members of the Colombian Senate and members of the press.

This is the second time that the project MIO para todos in Santiago de Cali has received international recognition. In 2011, MIO was granted the Research and Knowledge Award of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP). All over the world, Cali is regarded as a model for the sustainable development of public transport in a region which has been suffering from traffic congestion, outdated means of transport and steadily rising accident levels. Cali is playing a leading role in particular when it comes to the implementation of state-of-the-art technology. The planning, scheduling and management of the modern new bus fleet is being entrusted to the IT solutions of IVU, in combination with its on-board computers and the systems for passenger information. It is now possible to produce efficient and reliable timetables, provide updated information about departure times and to guarantee timely management of operational disturbances. Thanks to the efforts of the German developers, with their more than 35-years of experience in this field, MIO is today one of the most attractive modes of transport for the residents in and around Colombia’s third largest city. A further positive consequence has been that the number of traffic fatalities has fallen by about 70 per cent.

“With our project in Cali we have demonstrated the contribution which computer science, mathematics and modern technologies can make for mobility, the environment and the standards of living of tomorrow,” commented Dr Claudia Feix. “We are very proud of this award,” she continued. “The benefits of IT for the environment and society are increasingly being recognised. In particular in the field of public transport we still see considerable scope for optimisation and great opportunities for our solutions”.

Contact:
Madlen Dietrich
Corporate communications
IVU Traffic Technologies AG
Bundesallee 88, 12161 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49 30 85906-386
E-mail: Madlen.Dietrich(at)ivu.de
www.ivu.de

IVU Traffic Technologies AG has been working for more than thirty years with some 300 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, support the choice of branch locations and ensure that election results are determined correctly.
IVU. Systems for vibrant cities.

Next generation passenger information system in London

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0100

Updated departure times for 8 500 buses now available everywhere

Transport for London (TfL) is introducing the next generation dynamic passenger information system. In order to be able to provide comprehensive information for some six million passengers every day, the municipal transport authority is using the passenger information system IVU.realtime from the German software house IVU Traffic Technologies AG. The latest departure times for more than 8 500 London buses from about 19 000 bus stops are collected by IVU.realtime and after processing these are made available on electronic displays, smartphones, and via the Internet. IVU.realtime forms the core and the data hub of the new information system. A new feature will be the integration of cloud technology, so that real-time data can be made available for external applications.

A particularly impressive feature of this project is the amount of data which has to be processed. Every second, up to 5 000 departure times of the various operators in London are received from the ITCS System and processed. After only two seconds, the information is made available for the relevant media. The system is able to respond to up to two million enquiries per hour.

The text message and Internet information service was officially launched in October 2011. A goal was that passengers should not have to forego the information service even if bus stops are not fitted with an electronic display. The travellers only need to send the code number shown at the bus stop as a text message to a central telephone number and they receive the departure times displayed on their mobile phone. Within a few months the number of people using the service had risen to more than 700 000, generating up to 300 enquiries per second. Since November 2011, electronic displays have been successively going into service at the 2 500 main stops, and this roll out is already half-finished. The overall system is designed to be fault-tolerant, so that it will continue to operate even if a component malfunctions.

Test operations for IVU.realtime.cloud are due to begin in the summer. With this new service, the real-time data will be made available through an application programming interface (API) for other applications such as smartphone apps. IVU.realtime.cloud thus provides the basis for the integration of the dynamic timetable information in all sorts of websites. A subscription can be taken out for live stream data which can be integrated into the subscriber’s own services. The system will be operated in cooperation with Microsoft in the Microsoft Azure Cloud Infrastructure.

“With this major order we have been able to show the enormous potential of our systems”, comments Dr. Helmut Bergstein, Member of the Executive Board of IVU Traffic Technologies AG. “The technical development of our IVU.suite in accordance with the latest concepts makes it possible for us today to process millions of datasets in fractions of a second. That opens up many new opportunities in major cities worldwide.”

IVU Traffic Technologies AG is carrying out this project together with telent, the British technology services company for telecommunications networks, which has overall responsibility as general contractor.

Contact:
Madlen Dietrich
Corporate communications
IVU Traffic Technologies AG
Bundesallee 88, 12161 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49 30 85906-386
E-mail: Madlen.Dietrich(at)ivu.de
www.ivu.de

IVU Traffic Technologies AG has been working for more than thirty years with some 300 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, support the choice of branch locations and ensure that election results are determined correctly.
IVU. Systems for vibrant cities.

Das Smartphone steuert den Bus

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:30:00 +0100

Dr. Carsten Weise

Vortrag am 02.02.2012 um 16:30h im Informatik-Kolloquium an der RWTH Aachen
Informatik spielt – für viele unbemerkt – eine große Rolle in der modernen Verkehrsinfrastruktur.

Die Flotten moderner Verkehrsbetriebe kommen ohne zentrale Leitstellen und deren Gegenstück auf dem Fahrzeug, dem Bordcomputer, nicht mehr aus. Dieser Bordcomputer ist ein komplexes eingebettetes System, dass einem heutigen Smartphone ähnlicher ist als man erwarten würde. Der Vortrag stellt die Komplexität der Steuerung des Busses durch den Bordcomputer dar, und beschreibt den Bordcomputer als ein typisches Beispiel eines mobilen, eingebetteten Systems. Dabei beschäftigt sich der Vortrag nicht nur mit der Software- und Hardware-Architektur des Bordcomputers, sondern stellt darüber hinaus den zugrundeliegenden, industriellen Entwicklungsprozess vor und gibt somit einen Einblick in den typischen Arbeitsalltag eines Software-Entwicklers. Weitere Informationen:
http://www.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/Aktuelles/kalender.php

Timetable planning in Hebrew

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:46:00 +0100

IVU systems modernise public transport in Jerusalem

Every year, millions of tourists, pilgrims, and business visitors are attracted to Jerusalem. Famous for its religious diversity and the historical buildings of the old quarters, it is the largest city of the region with a total of nearly 800,000 residents, and is also an important commercial location. The tourism sector is the largest source of income, and this is promoted by investments in modern infrastructure developments. In order to provide more convenient and faster connections between the city’s sights, the Jerusalem Transportation Master plan Team (JTMT) decided in early 2011 to introduce the scheduling and passenger information systems of the IVU.suite. The decision in favour of the German software house IVU Traffic Technologies AG was taken after an international call for tenders. The introduction was successfully concluded only a few months later. Further modules are currently in the implementation phase.
Since June 2011 the systems of the IVU.suite have been in operation to plan and optimise up to 6,500 trips on 154 lines for some 1,000 buses and 42 trams. The situation in Jerusalem makes it necessary to take various language demands into consideration as well as special planning requirements. Especially for Jerusalem, the software engineers of IVU have combined English-language input masks with Hebrew characters, which are read and written from right to left.

A further challenge arose from the special needs of the religious visitors. For example, the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian holy sites must be correspondingly linked by lines. In order for the completed timetables to be transferred from the Ministry to the private operators and the passenger information service, interfaces have been created which allow the exchange of information in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.

After the successful completion of the initial project, JTMT placed orders for further modules of the IVU.suite in the summer of 2011. Measures are currently in progress to implement the geographical information system IVU.plan.map alongside the timetable planning of IVU.plan. In addition, it shall also be possible to access the passenger information from IVU.journey on smartphones using new apps for Apple and Android systems. Furthermore, it is planned to extend the timetable planning to include other areas in Jerusalem, which will involve handling information in Arabic. By the spring of 2012, IVU.systems will additionally be carrying out duty scheduling, fleet management, performance monitoring and settlement.

"The Jerusalem transport system is going through major changes," says Nadav Meroz, general manager of Jerusalem Transportation Master plan Team. "A key step is the implementation of various cutting edge information technologies. In such a complex city as Jerusalem, a passenger information system is a significant tool which enables the public to adapt to the changes and improve public transport usage. The IVU.suite was carefully selected to meet these needs and we are looking forward for further applications".

Contact:
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.de

IVU Traffic Technologies AG has been working for more than thirty years with some 300 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, support the choice of branch locations and ensure that election results are determined correctly.
IVU. Systems for vibrant cities.

“Discovering hidden treasure” – the efficient use of geo-data

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:30:00 +0100

The use of geo-data has become a part of our everyday lives. Journey routes are calculated, locations at the other end of the world are explored using the Internet, or the nearest filling station is identified using a smartphone.
But the wide range of geo-datasets and map presentations have many more possible applications, in particular offering considerable potential for business companies. This is the topic of the workshop “The world of geo-data – Using geo-data in business” which will be held on 29 November 2011 in Bernau, near Berlin (in German).

The efficient use of geo-data, in particular for location planning and optimisation, will be addressed by Oliver Schaefer, project manager at IVU, in his talk “Discovering hidden treasure – target-group oriented geo-marketing” at 3.10 p.m.

To find out more about the workshop and registration details, visit: http://www.geokomm.de/index.php?id=2208

520 pages of knowledge about IT systems in public transport

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:59:00 +0100

A view of the workings of a modern public transport company is offered by the book “IT-Systeme für Verkehrsunternehmen: Informationstechnik im öffentlichen Personenverkehr” from the IT specialist Dr. Gero Scholz.
This standard work, which establishes a common ground for communications between transport companies and system providers, is published by dpunkt.verlag and can be ordered via Amazon and other book-sellers from 15 November. On 520 pages, the reader learns everything about the complex software landscapes of modern public transport companies and their key contribution to maintaining mobility. The book will be of interest to system developers, university teachers and students, and of course to the public transport sector itself. It offers numerous insights and detailed technical descriptions of day-to-day IT processes. From timetable and duty roster planning and the deployment of drivers and vehicles through the management of vehicle fleets to comprehensive passenger information – all the areas of operation of public transport companies are considered and the relevant software systems are described.

In order to be accessible to the whole spectrum of readers from users to IT specialists, and to provide a full overview in text and illustrations of the many-layered system landscapes of public transport operations, Dr Scholz develops a comprehensive UML domain model. He establishes links for the first time between public transport know-how and software development expertise. The result is a standard model which aims to provide individual actors and producers of IT solutions with a basis for communications. The book is explicitly not written with only software engineers in mind. Dr Scholz manages to present the complexities of public transport clearly and simply, while still retaining the necessary depth of detail. In short, this is a book which sets standards.
Available from amazon.