One vendor or a cadre of suppliers? The situation regarding onboard IT solutions a few years ago was one or several vendors that supplied silo-systems, that didn’t communicate with each other. It was natural to start out that way. Then, as possibilities and demand increased the degree of communication between systems, the need for another […]

Global phenomenon There is a global movement towards subscribing to solutions and paying for access instead of buying. This is more and more common in business-to-business agreements, but it isn’t uncommon for us as private citizens either, to have such relations with companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Netflix, HBO, Storytel and Spotify for example. Instead of […]

Life cycle management When investing in an onboard IT solution, you need to think about the whole life-cycle of the system (i.e. more than 10 years for on-board solutions). An important question arises: Exactly what technology is to be installed and what applications are to be used in the vehicle for the next 10 years? […]

Delivery The complete product or solution is delivered to you at this point. Often, this is the time where you make the final payment. Therefore it is important that you have specified the FAT and SAT tests thoroughly and gone through the test process, so you know how to decide if the system works to […]

Developing products and solutions Depending on supplier, it can vary what type of processes is used to deliver work packages that will finally end up in a product or a solution, but they are often is quite similar. For development purposes a process like SCRUM will be used, and for maintenance purposes, typically a process like […]

Starting up The roll-out process stretches over time and consists of several steps. Even if IT solutions within the ITxPT (IT for Public Transport) standard are plug-and-play, there are decisions to be made, including definition of the system, test installation, FAT and SAT tests, end-user testing, educations, installations and configurations, acquiring data, educating personnel, and […]

Integration consulting The change from non-communicating vendor locked-in systems, to an open standard for both software and hardware, can sometimes seem like a daunting task, but either the comprehensive information material you can get from the system supplier will help you do the job, or you can use the many years of experience they have […]

Technical solution The technical solution is built on an internal network onboard the vehicle, connecting all systems through standard network cables, to a vehicle gateway. The gateway and the ITxPT compliant software of the vehicle connection platform, solve communication issues, share information between the systems and connect the vehicle network to the cloud. The cloud […]

Overview Both public transport operators- and authorities often suffer from low flexibility and vendor lock-in effects due to powerful monolith suppliers who shut out competition, making investment- and maintenance costs skyrocket. When purchasing one single system, it might be OK, and even seem rational with a silo solution, to get a fast and easy off-the-shelf […]

Why is it so important to specify FMS when ordering a vehicle? What is J1939 and how does it relate to FMS? What solutions are available for integration of buses without FMS, or inadequately specified FMS? Should you store all data you can get your hands on?