Hamburg's Transport Senator Tjarks: Public Transport Must Become Much More Data-Driven

Public transport must be much more digitized, according to Hamburg's Senator for Transport, Anjes Tjarks.

"Hochbahn, VHH, and other public transport companies need to become data-driven companies," the Green politician told the German Press Agency.

There is already a lot of data, but it's nowhere near enough. Much more data must be collected, while observing data protection, to be used for the driving experience and comfort of passengers.

Track Public Transport in Real Time with the Switch App

An initial step implemented is that the position of all Hochbahn buses can be tracked in real time in the Switch app, ensuring that everyone always knows when their bus will arrive.

"We also want to do this for all S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains," said Tjarks. The next step will be to display the occupancy of the vehicles in real time as well. "That means we want to be able to show for every Hochbahn bus and train: Are they actually empty, half full, or full?"

Tjarks: Forecasts should also be able to be created from real-time data

For the passenger, this means they could already consider at home whether to use a potentially already crowded bus or leave ten minutes later for the next, then less crowded bus. Basically, however, this is just the beginning, Tjarks believes. Because forecasts could also be created from the real-time data, predicting how full a bus would be at a specific time on a specific day.

Real-time data is also important for linking different modes of transport. If a bus, for example, is stuck in traffic or there's a police operation somewhere on the subway route, the system could suggest alternatives. It would also be possible for the passenger to have the fastest route displayed individually, for example, it's quicker to go by bike to a subway station, or from a time perspective, should a bus be chosen instead.