Case Study
Digital Transformation in Public Transportation with Cermoni: Vehicle and Driver Assignment Optimization
Overview:
Vignola is a small city in the Modena Region of Italy, but highly connected to the surrounding areas. In particular, it has a public transportation network that connects it with the surrounding countryside, consisting of city bus lines and lines to the surrounding towns.
The recent legislation imposing a 30 km/h speed limit in the regions of Italy, including Vignola and Modena, has required public transportation to be planned accordingly. The need for a more cost-effective and efficient public transportation planning has emerged, both in accordance with the legal regulation and to meet the demand.
But How?
Within the scope of the project, which is also invested by EIT Urban Mobility (European Institute of Innovation and Technology Urban Mobility), Europe's largest mobility network, optimization studies have been initiated in Cermoni and Vignola. In particular, these studies address the proposal of timetables according to changes in demand on the relevant lines and the optimization of vehicle-driver assignment according to the relevant timetable.
What is the purpose?
In order to optimize the number of vehicles and drivers for the currently proposed timetable, the Municipality of Modena aims to use its resources more efficiently and provide a better service. The objective is to improve the public transport service with fewer vehicles and at lower cost, without compromising the quality of service, in compliance with new legal regulations and reducing environmental impact.
Vehicle and Driver Assignment with Cermoni:
Within the scope of the study, the timetables of 13 lines in the Vignola movement center were imported into the Cermoni public transport decision support system. In this process, a detailed analysis was carried out using standard timetable information such as line length, vehicle type and average duration. With the Cermoni planning feature, vehicle and driver assignments were made in accordance with the timetable.
Better public transportation planning with fewer vehicles and drivers
With Cermoni, Vignola's public transport system has made a significant gain, reducing the number of vehicles from 26 to 24 compared to the current timetable. A similar improvement was achieved in the number of drivers, with 28 drivers instead of 31, making the same timetable sustainable.
This planning process not only reduced the number of vehicles, but also the total mileage and carbon emissions. This minimized environmental impacts and improved service quality. Simultaneously, reducing the number of drivers made operational processes more efficient. These innovative approaches have paved the way for a more efficient, economical and environmentally friendly public transportation service in Vignola.
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User review: Daniele Paolino, Modena Public Transport Agency
"Vehicle assignment tool is easy and fast to use, allowing us to check the quality of our timetables by analyzing bus usage. The same thing applies also to the driver assignment part; these tools can be crucial to balance users needs and public operator costs.
The pilot area covered just a small part of our territory, yet the result seems to be very positive, also thanks to the development team of Cermoni and the seamless communications with the Project Manager, which brought useful upgrades for the Cermoni promptly.”
Voice of Customer: How Cermoni is Benefiting in Italy?