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cannot speak: of the telematics technology, but of a wide range of technologies which may
have to be tuned to the needs of individuals and corporate organisations. Thus, there is
scope for a wide spectrum of scientific research, which should not only be technological in
nature, but also-and increasingly important-social science oriented.
7.5 Public transport management
Public transport management deals with the management of public transport
services, including fare collection and provision of information to passengers. Strategic
planning conducted on the basis of an analysis of operational parameters like demand,
revenue, fleet and personnel resources is not included in the range of telematics assisted
functions within this area since it is assumed that this aspect of strategic planning is not
an area where clearly telematics applications can directly assist. Indirectly, telematics has
an interface with strategic planning since some of the functions provide inputs to strategic
planning, e.g. information collection on public transport operations. Five groups of key
technologies can be distinguished in the field of public transport management.
Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)
systems. Typical automatic vehicle monitoring and location systems include hard- and
software in vehicles and operating centres and communication links between vehicles,
roadside and control centre. AVM systems cover a range of functions from vehicle
diagnostics and passenger counting, while AVL systems are used for fleet monitoring and
control. AVL systems are based on techniques like vehicle odometers, dead reckoning,
roadside beacons, radio triangulation and satellite positioning (see the previous section
for more details on the necessary specific mobile communication techniques). Two or
more of these techniques are often used in tandem in individual applications, since there
is no clearly leading technology due to a lack of harmonisation in the development of
AVM and AVL systems.
Interactive passenger information terminals. The application of interactive terminals
(and PCs) for public transport information form a substantial part of all systems providing
travel information. Interactive passenger information terminals can be used by travellers
or by the staff of enquiry offices and can be located at home, in the office, public places
and enquiry offices. The information provided is generally static, i.e. based on current
time tables, and can be mainly used for trip planning. Considerable advances have
been made in the development of software able to rapidly calculate the optimum route
between two points on the public transport network.
Real time passenger information systems: Real time information displays, mainly
used to provide real arrival and leaving times of the next series of vehicles, are usually
an adjunct to AVM and AVL systems. Such displays can be located at places like
public transport stops and interchanges and in vehicles. The application of real time
information in other locations such as in home or via portable terminals is less well
developed, but it is likely to become increasingly popular.
Fare collection systems: There have been considerable developments in the last
decade in the field of electronic ticket machines, magnetic ticketing and smart cards.
The most valid option at present is the use of smart cards. Such cards can be used for