Bus Radar app shows DB buses in real time

Deutsche Bahn has now added another innovative HaCon application to their range of apps for travelers: SBG SüdbadenBus GmbH is the first company of DB Regio AG to launch the bus radar app as an additional service for passengers that can be downloaded for iPhones and Android devices. Among other features, the new mobile application SBG mobil includes a dynamic map showing the real-time positions and movements of the DB buses all over Germany.

Among other features, the new mobile application SBG mobil includes a dynamic map showing the real-time positions

The bus radar is based on the HAFAS Live Map which has become a popular means to visualize timetable information. Several HaCon customers, such as the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), have successfully introduced live maps as part of their journey planners. Aside from the current bus positions, the new SBG mobil app informs passengers about delays of individual vehicles, including delay prognoses. This is made possible by using GPS data gathered by another HaCon software in the buses: The computer-based vehicle management system HAFAS Smart VMS is installed on portable devices like smartphones, tablets or on-board computers and determines the exact position by means of GPS. These real-time data can then be fed to all output channels for passenger information systems.

“Two years ago, together with HaCon, we laid the foundation for one of Europe’s largest computer network systems for public transportation – gradually, the results now become visible to our passengers,” says Olaf Bartels, Project Manager at DB Regio AG. Michael Frankenberg, Managing Director at HaCon, is also pleased with the next step in the ground-breaking project that has already been rewarded for its innovative power by the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV): “The new bus radar is perfectly suited to track one’s own journey and connecting vehicles. For the first time, we used GPS data instead of interpolated real-time data for this application, which results in an even higher accuracy.”

In addition to the HAFAS Live Map, SBG mobil features an integrated QR code scanner that can be used at each bus stop: Here, a QR code leads passengers directly to the stop-specific departure board that is displayed in the app, together with the current delay status.