Multi-modal Trip Planning for the San Francisco Bay Area - Mentz ...

mdv Multi-modal 

48. User Group in 

Garmisch-Partenkirchen 

DEFAS Quo Vadis 

news 

San Francisco - DEFAS - AVM light - Suffolk - Barrier Free 

Issue I/2011 

Information Technology from Munich 

Trip Planning for 

the San Francisco Bay Area 

AVM Light – Dynamic Timetables 

in the Vogtland Region 

EFA layout – Testing the Barriers 

of Accessibility

2 mdv news I/2011 

Letter from the Editor Contents 

Dear Reader, 

the production of this issue of mdv 

news has taken longer than originally 

planned. This is due in part to 

the lengthy approval process 

required for the articles. 

As is the norm, the current issue 

reports on our biannual user group. 

This time we met a little closer to 

home (Munich) in Garmisch- 

Partenkirchen, which was then still a 

candidate to host the 2018 Olympic 

Winter Games. The location provided 

a very pleasant, yet inspiring setting 

for all participants. 

The first article deals with the multi-modal trip planner in the San 

Francisco Bay Area. These types of multi-modal information systems have 

garnered world-wide interest, especially when real-time has been 

integrated. 

We report on progress in DEFAS, the state-wide real-time journey planner 

in Bavaria. 

Our first AVM Light System (automated vehicle monitoring) is now in live 

operation in the Vogtland Region of Germany. We report on this 

experience. 

Finally, we recently supplied a new system for asset management at 

public transport stops to England, where the Local Council is tasked with 

the upkeep of infrastructure. 

I hope you enjoy reading this issue 

Dr. Hans-Joachim Mentz 

Imprint 

Publisher: 

Mentz Datenverarbeitung GmbH 

Grillparzerstraße 18 

D-81675 München 

Tel.: +49 (0)89 41 868-0 

Fax: +49 (0)89 41 868-160 

E-mail: mdv@m.mentzdv.de 

Internet: www.mentzdv.de 

Editor: Rosemarie Mentz 

Design: Rosemarie Mentz 

Our branch offices: 


Westfalenstraße 224 

D-48165 Münster 

Tel.: +49 (0)2501 969-0 

Fax: +49 (0)2501 969-300 

E-mail: mdv@ms.mentzdv.de 


Rotebühlstraße 121 

D-70178 Stuttgart 

Tel.: +49 (0)711 61 55 43-0 

Fax: +49 (0)711 61 55 43-30 

E-mail: mdv@s.mentzdv.de 


Georgenstraße 22 

10117 Berlin 

Tel. +49 (0)30 200 77-056 

Fax +49 (0)30 200 77-260 

E-mail: mdv@b.mentzdv.de 

Multi-modal Trip Planning for the San Francisco Bay Area 

DEFAS - Quo Vadis 

AVM Light – Dynamic Timetables in the Vogtland Region 

Suffolk County Council Uses New DIVA Features 

48 th User Group Meeting in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 

EFA layout – Testing the Barriers of Accessibility 

News in Brief 

Our subsidiary offices: 

Mentz Datenverarbeitung Austria GmbH 

Mariahilfer Strasse 77-79 

1060 Vienna, Austria 

Tel.: +49 (0)89 41 868-0 

Fax: +49 (0)89 41 868-160 

E-mail: mdv@mentzdv.at 

Mentz Datenverarbeitung Schweiz GmbH 

Badenerstrasse 530 

8048 Zürich, Schweiz 

Tel. +41 (0)43 81863-11 

E-mail: mdv@mentzdv.ch 

mdv Australia Pty. Ltd. 

ABN 22134144326 

PO Box 682, 

Templestowe, 3106 

Australia 

phone: +61 (0) 437 241 927 

e-mail: rowlands@mentzdv.de 

In co-operation with: 

mdv Transit & Traffic Solutions Inc. 

201 Post St, 7th Floor 

San Francisco, CA 94108 

USA 

Tel.: +1 415 901 4927 

http://www.mdvtts.com 

3 

6 

8 

10 

12 

13 

13/14

Multi-modal Trip Planning for the San Francisco Bay Area 

After successfully launching the trip planner for 

public transport in the San Francisco Bay Area, 

the Metropolitan Transportation Commission 

(MTC) is continuing the expansion of information 

portal 511 (www.511.org) as part of the 

Urban Partnership Program (UPP). mdv continues 

to work in cooperation with the FORTUNE 

500 Company SAIC (From Science to Solutions) 

and is developing a multi-modal trip planner 

within the scope of the current project as a 

subcontractor. 

Currently, the information portal 511 by the 

MTC provides travel information for the nine 

counties in the region in the following four 

categories: trip planning for public transport, 

traffic information, ridesharing and bicycling. 

Having such a stark division of categories does, 

however, not necessarily allow for a quick and 

direct comparison of the different modes of 

transport available. 

The future multi-modal trip planning portal will 

be run in parallel with the trip planner for public 

transport on its own servers and will also have 

an additional staging server. Having its own 

hardware infrastructure renders the benefit of 

changing to the newest and most powerful 

hardware based on a 64-bit operating system 

and not having to interfere in the regular operation 

of the existing trip planner. As a result, it 

is also possible to fulfill the elevated performance 

and central memory requirements which 

arise due to the use of new components specific 

to individual transport. In using a 64-bit 

operating system, the limit of 4GB administrable 

memory, which posed a critical challenge 

for 32-bit operating systems, can be exceeded 

without any issues. 

The new trip planning portal makes it possible 

to quickly and conveniently compare the 

various modalities of transport. And due to the 

multi-modal arrangement, door-to-door trip 

planning can be planned and displayed in 

parallel for different scenarios. The three 

scenarios, for which the portal provides a direct 

comparison, are for trips on public transport, by 

car and using Drive to Transit. 

Scenario 1: Public Transport 

In order to compare different scenarios in the 

multi-modal trip planning portal, one has to 

ensure that the range of functions and trip 

planning for public transport are indistinguishable 

from that of the existing trip planner. This 

is done by directly converting the timetable 

data and the existing configuration of the running 

systems. The timetable data are transferred 

without alteration from the staging 

server of the existing trip planner to the staging 

server of the multi-modal trip planner and, after 

an integration check, imported to the live 

servers of the multi-modal trip planning 

system. 

Scenario 2: Motorized Individual Traffic 

When comparing different transport modalities 

in the U.S., the number 1 mode of transport 

must be taken into account. In fact, a 2005 

study by the U.S. Department of Transportation 

(Wikipedia, 2011) found that 82% of all passenger 

kilometers in the U.S. were covered by 

motorized individual transport. 

By integrating motorized individual transport 

into the information portal, car trips can be 

immediately compared with other scenarios. In 

this way, users are able to weigh the advantages 

and disadvantages of the individual 

scenarios at a glance and can decide whether 

to take public transport for part of or for their 

entire trip. 

Yet one issue remains when making a comparison 

between motorized individual transport 

and public transport – the unrealistically short 

driving times that most trip planners use that 

are based on statistical speed values found in 

the GIS data. As a result of the sole use of one 

set of data, only one speed value is available for 

all times of day and night. Obviously, this data 

does not reflect the actual traffic volumes at different 

times of day. 

Speed Profiles 

In order to counteract this effect, speed profiles 

can be taken into account when calculating car 

routes in the EFA system. In the Bay Area, data 

exist for the main traffic arteries (highways, freeways 

and motorways), making the integration 

of different speed for the different times of the 

mdv news I/2011 - 3 

day and day types (e.g. weekdays, Saturday, 

Sunday and holidays) possible on these road 

sections. Using this data, the IT algorithm can 

enter the corresponding speed into a trip calculation 

depending on traffic direction, time of 

day and current day type validation. 

Traffic Alerts 

A further factor is traffic disruptions. The EFA 

system, using ICS components (Incident Capturing 

System), can receive, create, and edit incident 

messages for public transport and traffic 

alerts for IT, which can then both be forwarded 

to connected EFA systems. 

The multi-modal trip planner in the San Francisco 

Bay Area employs a DATEX2 interface to 

receive traffic alerts in the ICS. After being successfully 

received, the ICS converts the DATEX2messages 

into internal AddInfo format and forwards 

them to the registered EFA systems. 

Traffic alerts can be displayed and managed in 

the ICS (see Figure 1). 

The traffic alerts received by the EFA systems 

are integrated into car route calculation and, if 

the calculated route is affected, displayed in the 

output (see Figure 2 and Figure 3). If a traffic 

alert contains a road block, the affected street 

section is avoided and a corresponding traffic 

alert is also not displayed (needed) in the 

directions.


Figure 1: Management of traffic alerts received by 

DATEX2 in the ICS 

Figure 2: Integration of traffic alerts into the directions 

(shown in a test layout) 

Mapping Static and Dynamic Traffic Data 

A challenge when integrating traffic alerts and 

other information relevant for IT-routing is the 

various reference graphs. This problem was also 

confronted when developing the multi-modal 

trip planner for the San Francisco Bay Area. Both 

the traffic alerts and the speed profiles are referenced 

to a network graph which is not identical 

to the network graphs of the multi-modal 

trip planner. As a consequence, the additional 

information cannot be accounted for when 

calculating car routes without converting 

location references. 

The GisImport and DivaGeo modules had to be 

enhanced to calculate a conversion table 

between two network graphs and feed the output 

into an ASCII file. This table is subsequently 

read by the ICS and ITProfileConverter applications 

and used to convert location references. 

As depicted in Figure 4, traffic alerts or characteristics 

cannot be displayed on another network 

graph without a conversion table. Using 

the conversion table it is possible to show information 

on the red line on one or more of the 

green lines. Consequently, traffic alerts and 

speed values from the profiles can be integrated 

into the multi-modal trip planning 

portal without any loss of information. 

Time-bound Tolls 

A further challenge to be overcome was the 

integration of time-bound tolls, which are specific 

to car routing in the Bay Area. All trips over 

the bay bridges of San Francisco require tolls in 

at least one direction and some tolls are even 

dependent on the time of day travelled and 

payment method used (cash or automatic easy 

pass). The data model of the dynamic IT algorithm 

was enhanced for this requirement and 

the directions now indicate the tolls due based 

on payment method and time of day. 

Scenario 3: Drive&Park and Kiss&Ride 

The last trip scenario for a comparison is 

requesting a Drive&Park or Kiss&Ride route over 

the multi-modal trip planning portal. In doing 

so, the EFA system either automatically selects 

the best Drive&Park parking spaces or lets users 

choose a desired transition point for a 

Drive&Park or Kiss&Ride trip from a list of 

options. 

Figure 4: Mapping between two network graphs 

Parking Garages and Drop-off Points 

The parking garages and drop-off points for a 

Drive&Park or Kiss&Ride trip are converted into 

GIS data using the GISImport application. The 

parking garages and transition points constitute 

a new point layer in the GIS data that can 

be used save additional attributes relevant for 

parking. Among other things, the number of 

parking spaces, the coordinates of the 

entrances and exits, the average duration 

between entering and leaving the parking 

garage and other numerous informative attri - 

butes per parking garage are imported and 

saved in the GIS data. 

This information can be subsequently integrated 

into the EFA system and requested with 

assistance from the EFAParkingServer (see Figure 

6). In order to automatically pre-select the 

best Park&Ride parking spaces, the system uses 

an escalating proximity search. If no parking 

garages are found within a starting radius of 5 

miles around the trip origin, the search is incrementally 

widened until it reaches an indicated 

maximum. 

Automatic Selection of the Best Drive&Park 

Routes 

In the past, users were forced to select from a 

list with preselected parking garages, before 

the EFA system could calculate and present a 

complete Drive&Park trip. This manual selection 

is now complemented in the multi-modal trip 

planning portal for the San Francisco Bay Area 

by an automatic selection of the best 

Drive&Park routes for an indicated departure or 

arrival time. 

As depicted in Figure 5, the process of automatically 

selecting the best Drive&Park routes is a 

complex orchestration of the various EFA components. 

It begins with verification of trip origin 

and destination (EFALocationServer), continues 

with a search for Drive&Park parking spaces 

near the starting point of the trip (EFAParkingServer), 

a search for public transport stops 

near the parking spaces and close to the destination 

(EFAGISKernel), calculation of footpaths 

between parking garages and origin stops, 

between destination stops and the final trip 

destination (EFAITRoutingKernel) and the

Figure 3: Route display incl. traffic alert 

Figure 5: Display of parking options on the interactive map 

Location Server 

oder EFA GIS Kernel 

(bei Koordinate 

START 

EFA IT 

Routing 

Kernel 

Parkmöglichkeit 1 



EFA 

Parking 

Server 

EFA IT 

Routing 

Kernel 

HST S1 

HST S2 

HST S3 

HST S4 

HST S5 

HST S6 

EFA GIS 

Kernel 

EFA PT 

Kernel 

EFA GIS 

Kernel 

HST Z1 

HST Z2 ZIEL 

HST Z3 

EFA IT 

Routing 

Kernel 

LocationServer 

oder EFA GIS Kernel 

(bei Koordinate 

Figure 6: Interaction of EFA components by a P&R route search with automatic selection of parking options 

mdv news I/2011 - 5 

calculation of routes with public transport 

(EFAPTKernel). After all information about the 

individual segments has been gathered, the 

parking garages with the best total trip time 

can be selected and the entire routes calculated 

and displayed. 

Outlook 

A first version of the multi-modal trip planning 

portal for the San Francisco Bay Area will go 

online on December 1st, 2011 and hopefully 

build on the success of the trip planner for public 

transport. 

The next phase of the project includes the integration 

of real-time data for motorized individual 

traffic, of links and display of relevant public 

transport real time departure times and of a 

CO2 calculator for the different scenarios. 

mdv contact: 

Marc Ullrich 

Ullrich@mentzdv.de 

Tel.: +49 (0) 89 418 68-145


DEFAS Quo Vadis 

The last time DEFAS FGI BAYERN appeared in 

mdv news II/2009, we were at the very beginning 

of the project. Since then, DEFAS BAYERN 

has lost three letters and been officially in operation 

since 1 July 2010. But the question is, can 

passengers tell the difference? 

The Portals 

The first portal, which was supplied by the 

DEFAS BAYERN Background System, was 

already in operation in April 2010. Passenger 

information systems were set up for the State 

Garden Show in Rosenheim by RoVG (Rosenheim 

Transport Authority) at three central stations 

in Rosenheim (Rail Station, City Center 

and Atrium). On these information boards, the 

latest departures of the SVR (Rosenheim City 

Transport) and RVO (Upper Bavarian Regional 

Transport) were displayed. At first, DEFAS BAY- 

ERN could only provide scheduled times. However, 

with the development of AVM systems of 

the two companies, a shift to real-time is now 

possible. 

During this time, the German Telecom set up 

several public telephones around the Garden 

Show with displays (Ö-Tel) (see Fig. 1) which 

showed the current departures of the nearest 

stops (Fig. 2). The familiarity of the telephone 

keypad makes it easy to plan a journey, even for 

those of us who are non-technical experts. The 

public telephones at the garden show were 

part of a pilot project. In the meantime, more of 

these systems have been set up throughout 

Bavaria and the existing systems have been 

transferred to the DEFAS BAYERN Background 

System. 

Both the displays of the RoVG and the public 

telephones access the DEFAS BAYERN EFA XML 

interface. 

On 1 January 2011 the new regional timetable 

was followed by the first internet portal, which 

replaced the old one mainly based on the 

Deutsche Bahn timetable for Baveria. The new 

timetable impresses with its heavily map-based 

layout. During input, users can select between 

entering text and using the map. Even when 

typing text, feedback can be seen directly on 

the map. The results page displays both a 

detailed view and a visualization of the currently 

selected journey on the map. Users can 

choose between a vector map, aerial photos 

and a hybrid display. In the future, a topographic 

map with elevation information will be 

added. 

One new system feature is the visualization of 

vehicle positions on the map. Visualization 

information is supplied to AVM Systems by the 

VDV 453 VIS interface so that the current positions 

of the vehicles can be displayed directly 

on the map. Punctual vehicles are represented 

by a green arrow. Slightly and majorly delayed 

vehicles are displayed with an orange or red 

arrow. If the mouse is moved over one of the 

vehicles, additional information about the vehicle 

appears in a bubble such as route number 

and direction. Currently, visualization informa- 

tion is available in DEFAS BAYERN for the 

Stadtwerke Augsburg and the Mobility Company 

Omnipart. 

Shortly after the release of the schedule for 

Bavaria, two additional portals were added that 

might normally be considered somewhat 

exotic. The first is Bayerntext (see Figure 3) of 

the Bavarian Television network and the other 

is the cross-country portal of the German Ski 

Association. Bayerntext has been supplying current 

traffic information for Bavarian highways 

and airports for a long time. More recently, the 

current departure boards of the Munich and 

Nuremberg train stations have been added. 

According to statistics from the Bavarian Television 

Network, Bayerntext is an information 

medium that continues to be highly popular in 

use, especially in generations that grew up 

without IPhones and the internet. 

The next change for the portal will be to move 

the major Bavarian transport authorities to 

DEFAS BAYERN. They all currently operate their 

own journey planning systems without realtime 

information and, with only a few exceptions, 

are limited to their particular area. The 

groundwork for this move is already underway 

so that passengers now using the individual 

authority portals can benefit from the statewide 

real-time journey planning system in the 

near future. 

Real-time 

Figure 1: Bavaria Journey Planner on public telephones Figure 2: Public telephone departure board Figure 3: Bayerntext 

The goal of DEFAS BAYERN is a comprehensive 

state-wide real-time journey planning system 

for passengers. For this to become a reality the 

AVM system data have to be processed in VDV 

454 REF-AUS and AUS format. At the same time, 

vehicles are displayed made on the map, whose 

AVM system data are supplied in VDV 453 VIS 

format. When this issue went to press, the following 

suppliers had been integrated to the 

real-time journey planning system:

- DB Fernverkehr 

- DB Regio 

- Stadtwerke Munich 

- Stadtverkehr Rosenheim 

- Stadtwerke Augsburg 

- Berchtesgadener Land Bahn 

Visualization of information is available for: 

- Omnipart 

- Stadtwerke Augsburg 

The integration of real-time data is currently 

being prepared for the following suppliers: 

- DB Stadtverkehr Bayern (OVF, RVO, RVA,RBO) 

- agilis (Dieselnetwork of Upper Franconia and 

E-network Regensburg) 

- Bayerische Oberland Bahn 

- Bavarian Regio Bahn 

In addition to real time for the journey planning 

system, the AVM systems can exchange realtime 

information over DEFAS BAYERN. This is 

done via the VDV 453 ANS services to guarantee 

connections and over the VDV 453 PIS to 

supply displays at stops and stations. 

It is planned, among other things, to supply the 

real-time information of non-federally owned 

railways over DEFAS BAYERN to the DB Station 

& Service for displays at the stations of DB Station 

& Service in Bavaria. 

The Data Platform 

Not as noticeable for passengers, but vital for 

data suppliers of DEFAS BAYERN, is the data 

platform. Via DEFAS BAYERN, the scheduled and 

real-time data can be bi-or multi-directionally 

exchanged with each other as well as being 

able to simultaneously maintain a common GIS 

database. 

The DEFAS BAYERN installation also includes 

mdv products such as the DDIP for real-time 

data and DIVA 4 for the scheduled data and GIS 

data. 

The scheduled data of the data suppliers are 

currently organized into 59 subnets in which 

each data supplier has its own subnet. These 

subnets may stretch across several counties, as 

is the case of transport associations, or be limited 

to private railway companies on a single 

route. The rights- and role model is based on 

this subnet structure. At first, a data supplier 

only has functions for their own subnet. If a 

bilateral agreement has been made between 

data suppliers regarding data management, 

rights can be appropriately expanded as 

required. All data suppliers of DEFAS BAYERN 

have access to the scheduled timetable data for 

the entire State of Bavaria. 

Regarding scheduled data, DEFAS BAYERN is 

primarily concerned with ensuring quality. Creating 

the scheduled data is done in the planning 

tools of the individual suppliers. Data is 

then supplied to DEFAS BAYERN using stan- 

dardized exchange formats such as VDV 452 or 

DINO. Once there, the data is integrated into a 

state-wide network and is checked for quality 

using the DMS (Data Management System) in 

DIVA4. This powerful tool provides users with 

automated verification and validation checks 

when editing and correcting data. In this way, 

double stops, missing or implausible coordinates 

and trips with excessive speed can be 

automatically recognized. A protocol of the 

quality check is generated after each data supply 

so that the data can be corrected in the 

planning tool. 

For smaller data suppliers with only a few 

routes and no separate planning tool, data can 

be entered directly into DEFAS BAYERN using 

DIVA Web Schedule. 

Access to DEFAS BAYERN is secured via the SSL 

VPN, which provides the advantage of being 

able to work from anywhere that has an internet 

connection, while maintaining the security 

of a VPN tunnel. User identification occurs with 

the username and password and with a token, 

which supplies timed-controlled numeric passwords. 

At the time of writing, a total of 43 users 

had access DIVA in DEFAS BAYERN. 

In the realm of real-time data, the DDIP works 

in both multiplex and proxy mode (see also 

mdv news 02/2010). In the proxy mode, the 

DDIP provides the physical connection 

between AVM systems, where real-time data 

are exchanged over DEFAS BAYERN. This occurs 

partly for the purpose of guaranteeing connections 

(VDV 453 ANS) and of supplying displays 

(VDV 453 PIS). The multiplex mode is used to 

supply several journey planning systems from 

a single AVM subscription. 

Conclusion 

With the addition of all suppliers in Bavaria, 

DEFAS BAYERN will be now be in a position to 

serve a large section of the population, who can 

take advantage of a state-wide real-time journey 

planner on the portals of their trusted 

transport authorities. 

mdv contact: 

Christoph Mentz 

mentzc@mentzdv.de 

Tel.: +49 (0) 89 418 68-155 

mdv news I/2011 - 7


AVM Light – Dynamic Timetables in the Vogtland Region 

The title of this article may pose a series of 

questions, even to the experienced mdv news 

reader. What is AVM Light? What do AVM and 

mdv have to do with one another? And what is 

the Vogtland Region doing with this innovative 

technology? 

The idea to build AVM Light came about with 

the advent of powerful easy-to-use smart 

phones like the iPhone and Android phones. 

They provide enough processing power for the 

functions of an AVM driver data terminal, can 

be easily installed in a vehicle, and are afforded 

enough screen readability for use while driving. 

Newer phones would even provide an integrated 

GPS antenna for vehicle tracking. Yet real 

world use has shown that GPS antennas inside 

vehicles are much less reliable than an externally 

mounted device. Now there are even 

off-the-shelf products of this kind as well. 

Behind the concept of AVM Light is the idea of 

having an AVM system without the hardware 

and vehicle installation. So the word 'light' 

mainly refers to the lack of hardware and its 

associated investment and maintenance costs, 

and not to its functionality. 

System Concept 

Regarding the vehicles, a distinction is made 

between those to be equipped with new data 

terminals and those that already have an 

onboard computer which only needs to be 

upgraded (see Figure 1). 

Vehicles without on-board computers will be 

equipped with two components, a GPS tracker 

and a PDA. 

The GPS Tracker is a GPS receiver with an 

antenna and integrated GPRS modem, which 

has been mounted on the roof of the vehicle 

and merely has to be connected to the vehicle’s 

electrical system. The GPS Tracker has its own 

SIM card and sends messages to the AVM system 

over the mobile network in customizable 

time intervals as soon as the vehicle is turned 

on. These messages indicate the GPS position, 

speed and direction of the vehicle as well as a 

vehicle-specific ID. 

In the vehicle, a PDA is installed on which the 

application runs. Using this application, the 

driver can log on at the beginning of their shift. 

AVM Light can work with or without block information. 

The assignment of a vehicle to a trip or 

a block occurs when a driver logs on to a 

respective route/block. 

In addition to driver log on/off, vehicle and 

route registration, communication with the 

center of operations occurs over the PDA. This 

is either done via text messages or over the 

telephone features of the PDA. 

Rather than having a GPS module in the PDA, 

using an external GPS track provides a number 

of advantages. Due to the high-quality antenna, 

receiver and installation on the vehicle roof, significantly 

more stable and reliable GPS reception 

can be achieved. Moreover, position and 

vehicle ID are sent whenever the vehicle is in 

operation, regardless of whether a route and 

driver are logged onto the system. 

In vehicles with on-board computers, position 

indication and log on/off communication for 

routes have to be performed by the on-board 

computer. Communication with the AVM system 

occurs over an interface that has been 

agreed upon by the manufacturer of the 

computer. 

Control center 

Figure 2 shows the control center in correspondence 

with the DIVA / EFA system. It is from the 

DIVA system that the AVM system is supplied 

with scheduled data via a VDV 452 interface. 

Based on the scheduled data and the current 

vehicle position, timetable forecasts are calculated 

by the AVM system. The forecasts are then 

sent either directly to EFA real-time or first to 

the DDIP via interfaces VDV 454 AUS and AUS- 

REF for use in the EFA journey planner. The vehicle 

positions are transmitted via the VDV 453 

VIS interface to EFA and to third parties over the 

DDIP. The AVM system is also able to receive 

third party VDV 453 VIS to display their vehicles 

on the control center display. 

Both the application of the control center and 

the application for the vehicle data terminals 

run on the application server. Both applications 

are fully web-based. The control center application 

can be accessed in a browser on user workstations. 

The same applies to the use of vehicle 

data terminals, which also only require a 

browser on a PDA. 

Installation of AVM-specific software to user 

workstations or PDAs is not necessary. 

The applications on the application server communicate 

with the AVM system over a WCF 

interface. It is also possible to open this interface 

for communication between the AVM system 

and the on-board computers. 

Figure 1 Vehicle system Figure 2 Control center and data management system DIVA/EFA

In addition to AVM data, the control center 

application also requires map tiles, which are 

accessed directly from EFA. Depending on the 

network connection, is may also be possible to 

mirror the map tiles on the AVM server. 

For the transport authorities using AVM Light, 

there is an option to set up remote workstations 

of the control center. They access the 

application of the control center over a browser 

on the user workstations. Depending on security 

requirements, they either require an internet 

connection or a VPN tunnel into the network 

of the AVM operator. The data that can be 

viewed by the VU's can be controlled by a system 

administrator using rights management. 

VMiV – Dynamic Journey Planning in the 

Vogtland Region 

In the spring of last year, and in collaboration 

with its partners PSI and Vodafone, mdv was 

successful in its bid to supply an AVM system to 

the Vogtland Region. An AVM Light was provided 

for all public buses in the Vogtland 

Region with the goal to provide passengers in 

the Vogtland Region with a comprehensive 

supply of data with real-time, in addition to the 

AVMs under development in the Vogtlandbahn 

and the DB Regio. 

With PSI, mdv has a partner that provides a 

wealth of experience in the field of conventional 

AVM systems, having already operated 

several display systems in the Vogtland Region 

themselves. The decision to partner with Vodafone 

was a consequence of the Connect Network 

Test, in which Vodafone had by far the 

best network coverage in the ZVV operating 

area. 

The distribution of work within the project was 

as follows. While Vodafone was directly commissioned 

by the ZVV to supply the mobile data 

terminals and to make the network available, 

PSI supplied parts of the background system on 

behalf of mdv. The system’s main job is to manage 

vehicle and driver data and to calculate 

real-time forecasts. mdv developed new software 

for the control center and driver data terminals 

and was responsible for project 

management. 

The project itself started on a very ambitious 

time schedule to implement the technically 

complex AVM system. Starting on 1 July, there 

are exactly five and a half months until final 

acceptance of the system in December. Despite 

these constraints, the project is on track to be 

successfully completed within the allotted time. 

Since January, AVM Light has been integrated 

into the regular operation of participating bus 

operators. Starting in October 2011, the real 

time data will be made accessible to passengers 

with the re-launch of the ZVV website. 

In total, over 160 buses from six different companies 

have been equipped with AVM Light, 

including two Vogtlandbahn railcars. 

Conclusion 

With the introduction of AVM Light, mdv can 

now supply the full value chain of real-time passenger 

information, from scheduling and monitoring 

to display in the portals. Time-consuming 

coordination between interfaces is no 

longer necessary. 

That is not to mention the five other major 

benefits that are inherent to AVM Light: 

- Low investment costs 

- Low operating costs 

- Short implementation period 

- Proven and robust hardware 

- Easy to enhance 

mdv contact: 

Christoph Mentz 

mentzc@mentzdv.de 

Tel.: +49 (0) 89 418 68-155 

mdv news I/2011 - 9


Suffolk County Council Uses New DIVA Features 

In mdv news I/2010, we reported extensively 

about the east coast County of Suffolk – which 

belongs to theTraveline East Anglia Region – 

and which has been using DIVA 4 and EFA since 

2009 (http://www.mentzdv.de/uploads/media/ 

mdvnews_I-2010.pdf). 

The project includes a number of work packages, 

which pertain to both EFA and DIVA. The 

DIVA work packages are: 

- Stop and Timetable Management 

- Asset Management 

- Print Products (multi-stop timetables, map 

products) 

- Electronic Bus Service Registration (EBSR) 

- Contract Management Portal 

- Management Reports 

- Mobile DIVA Admin 

- TransXchange / NaPTAN: Import / Export 

In the current issue we want to introduce two 

new modules in some detail and show how 

they were integrated into the DIVA system. The 

modules are asset management and electronic 

bus service registration (EBSR). 

Asset Management 

In England, public transport is “deregulated”. As 

a consequence, the County Council is responsible 

for its infrastructure, especially for the stops. 

This means that the Council is required to moni - 

tor, repair and ensure that timetables are always 

up-to-date. To accomplish these tasks, DIVA4 

provides a new management tool, which is now 

in use by the SCC (Suffolk County Council). 

In various workshops with the SCC, a decision 

was made to differentiate between two types 

of assets in DIVA4: 

-Attributes and 

- Assets. 

Attributes are simply data fields 

- Yes / no 

- Text box 

- Selection lists 

- Date or number 

However this type of attribute is restricted, it 

cannot have any sub-attributes, and it cannot 

be assigned any damage. Adding an attribute 

to a stop is very simple. In DIVA Web a list of 

all available attributes can be opened and a 

value for the attribute can be selected from 

the list. All of the predefined values can be 

entered by the local employee (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1: Attributes 

For more rare cases of other sub-attributes or 

damage, the second type of asset management 

was developed, as to not overburden 

the stop list. 

Assets 

Asset can, in turn, have attributes. When 

selecting the asset type, the relevant attributes 

are displayed. A value can be selected 

for each attribute (see Figure 2). 

Figure 2: Asset 

If damage is reported, it will be entered and 

managed in DIVA, and added to the assets. In 

Suffolk it was important to be able to enter 

detailed information about the damage (who 

reported the damage when was it reported, 

when was it resolved, etc. see Figure 3). In the 

asset summary, the status of the damage is 

clearly visible after an update. The same customization 

applies for both attributes and 

assets in that the assets types can be individually 

specified. 

It was very important for mdv to offer our customers 

maximum flexibility by allowing them 

to define and enter attribute and asset types 

themselves without having to rely on mdv. 

Figure 3: Damage

Electronic Bus Service Registration 

Electronic Bus Service Registration (EBSR) is the 

second new module that has great significance 

to our customers in the UK. Any technically 

qualified operator - as described in the first article 

about Suffolk – can provide a regular service 

that was properly registered before the start of 

operations at the VOSA (Vehicle & Operator 

Services Agency). This registration, which was 

done by paper the past 30 years, can now be 

processed electronically using the EBSR integrated 

into in DIVA. In order to create a 

timetable, the stop codes of the national stops 

database must be used, the so-called NaPTAN 

codes (National Public Transport Access Nodes). 

In order to register the timetable, it has to be in 

TransXChange (TXC) format. 

The operator has a separate login for DIVA Web 

and can perform the entire registration over the 

web. No special software is required, only a 

standard web browser is needed to perform the 

various tasks (eg Internet Explorer). 

Registering a route is done in the following 

steps in which the operator is supported by an 

assistant. 

Figure 4: Creating a route on the map 

Figure 5: Creating a timetable 

- Create route registration 

- Formalities (company name, contact 

address, contact name, license number, 

etc.), these data are preset. 

- Route information (route name, route 

number, etc.) 

- Route type 

- Operating days 

- Sponsoring 

- Create route on map in DIVA Web (see 

Figure 4) 

- Creating a timetable in DIVA Web Schedule 

(see Figure 5) 

- Create TXC timetable files and send to the 

VOSA in DIVA Web EBSR 

With the EBSR in DIVA, timetables can be created 

faster, error rates can be reduced and as a 

result costs can be lowered. 

Summary 

mdv news I/2011 - 11 

We have been working closely with project 

manager Ian Gray and the team in Suffolk to 

test the previously implemented modules. The 

goal is to develop the best solution for Suffolk, 

but one that can also be attractive for other 

customers. 

As part of this ambitious project, a range of new 

developments were introduced in DIVA and 

EFA. We look forward seeing them in use in 

Suffolk and beyond. Many thanks to Ian Gray 

and Angharad Murray and their team for the 

constructive and friendly cooperation. 

mdv contact: 

Liliane Abdul-Reda 

abdul-reda@mentzdv.de 

Tel.: +49 (0) 89 418 68-170


48 th User Group Meeting in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 

In cooperation with the Bavarian Railway 

Company (BEG) mdv invited selected participants 

to attend the 48th DIVA / EFA User Group 

in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in early April. 

Approx. 80 participants from Germany, Austria, 

Great Britain and Switzerland convened in a 

sports and convention hotel at the edge of one 

of the well-known winter sports resorts to be 

informed about new mdv software. The stunning 

mountain scenery with snow-covered 

peaks set the tone for the conference. 

At the beginning of the user group, Mr. Kord 

Simons, head of infrastructure, passenger information 

and quality at stations in the BEG, gave 

an overview of the tasks and activities of the 

BEG and the telematics initiative of the Free 

State of Bavaria, which is also the basis for the 

statewide DEFAS FGI BAYERN project. A series 

of presentations followed in which new 

product developments were described, such as 

the data platform DDIP, which is already successfully 

in use with customers, and the new 

AVM Light by mdv. Another presentation based 

on statistics illustrated the behavior of mobile 

phone application users, where the participants 

could learn a new thing or two. Other presentations 

covered the projects introducing DIVA 

4 and EFA 10 in Sydney (Australia) and Suffolk 

(UK). 

A highlight of the first day was a behind the 

scenes view of the journey planner for the 2012 

Olympic Games in London. Mr. Stuart Reynolds, 

a member of the Olympic Delivery Authority, 

described to the audience the challenges that 

the organizational committee has had to deal 

with to meet the mobility demands of Olympic 

Game visitors. As one might suspect, the EFA 

system plays a crucial role as a journey planner 

for Greater London. The system has been 

enhanced to include information about the 

sports venues and additional controls rules in 

order to avoid flow conflicts between Olympic 

visitors and daily commuters. 

After the ambitious day program, the participants 

were able to relax afterward by visiting 

the nearby Bavarian Castle of Linderhof. The 

first day came to a close at dinner, which took 

place in a fantastic location with a fabulous 

panoramic view. The venue provided more than 

a few opportunities to exchange information 

and ideas with the other participants. 

On the second day, topics focused on the new 

developments in the DIVA4 system, such as the 

creation of presentation and print products or 

the management of data for public transport 

stop assets. Mr. Christoph Herzog of BLIC 

Middle East gave a very entertaining presentation 

"DIVA in the desert", which described the 

tasks required to build a public transport system 

in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). With 

photos of everyday life in the desert town, Mr. 

Herzog attempted to give an impression of the 

traffic situation on the ground. To better organ- 

ize mobility in Abu Dhabi, DIVA 4 is used by the 

local authorities for planning and administrative 

tasks. Listening to remarks on the traffic situation 

in a hot desert town in a hotel in the 

Bavarian Alps may have seemed like a tale from 

1001 Nights to more than just a few 

participants. 

The conference ended at lunch, where the 

many new impressions and valuable pieces of 

information could be mentally digested.

EFA layout – Testing the Barriers of Accessibility 

Employees of the Vocational Training Center for 

the Blind and Visually Impaired of the Regional 

Association of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL) in Soest 

helped test the new EFA layout of the Westphalia 

Transport Authority (WVG) under the 

watchful eye of trainers. In part due to good 

contact between the Regional Transport Company 

WVG Ruhr-Lippe GmbH (RLG) and the 

vocational training center, it was possible to test 

and evaluate the mdv’s new layout both by 

experts and users in order for its compliance 

with accessibility requirements. The blind and 

visually impaired also need to be able to comfortably 

use a journey planner. The instructor 

first explained the hardware and software with 

which the trainees could read and edit barrierfree 

web pages before the EFA-layouts were 

closely scrutinized. 

While the visually impaired can improve the 

standard user interface as needed with appropriate 

software, for example by drastically 

increasing font sizes and converting colors, the 

blind have to rely on the quality of the text version 

of the EFA layout. This includes both the 

content of the layout and input fields as well as 

the menus and selection boxes. Users are able 

to hear the contents of the screen in synthetic 

speech using a screen reader and can enter 

content using a Braille keyboard. The most 

important aspect is to have a clear structure 

and an appropriate labeling of fields. Careful 

programming facilitates the fast reading and 

page use with key combinations of the screenreader 

software. This software is available from 

several vendors (e.g. widespread JAWS - Job 

Access With Speech). 

In the actual testing of the EFA-text version in 

Soest, we found that this version was already 

very well adapted to the needs of the blind and 

News in Brief 

that it works well with a screen reader. Nevertheless, 

the instructor was still able to give a 

few recommendations as to how the EFA-text 

version could be further optimized. In essence, 

it is often the little things, like the elimination 

of blank spaces or the use of skip links that 

make a website more convenient for the blind. 

But it can be said that Peter Brocks and Holger 

Topp gained one main insight during their visit 

to the Soest LWL Resource Center: For the 

blind, the first impression counts when they 

visit a website. Anyone who has experienced 

redundant and unstructured information read 

at a high speed and in synthetic language can 

definitely understand why this kind of page 

would not be visited a second time. 

mdv news I/2011 - 13 

Peter Brocks (mdv), Stephan Lehmann and Kai Lammert 

(LWL) test the new EFA layout in the training 

room of the Vocational Training Center for the Blind 

and Visually Impaired 

mdv contact: 

Peter Brocks 

brocks@mentzdv.de 

Tel.: +49 (0) 2501969-219 

Stephan Lehmann and Kai Lammert (LWL), Holger Topp (WVG) and Peter Brocks (mdv) in front of the Vocational 

Training Center building 

EFA qualifies for the 2012 Olympic Games 

The 2012 Olympic Games are set to take place 

in both Greater London and other sporting 

venues spread out across Great Britain. Those 

who know London are aware of the normal 

traffic situation in the bustling metropolis. 

During the Olympic and Paraolympic Games, 

the usual numbers of commuters and tourists 

will be multiplied by the thousands of event 

spectators. As such, one the major tasks of the 

planning committee was to effectively channel 

crowds to the various Olympic venues, a job 

mainly handled by the Spectator Journey 

Planner on the official website 

(www.london2012.com). Recommendations for 

individual transit are combined with those for 

public transport, which has been given a 

prominent role on the site. The journey planner, 

which recommends the best route to the 

venues, makes use of the Transport Direct System, 

a nation-wide journey planning system of 

the British Department for Transport. The 

Department normally relies on the EFA System 

for journey planning throughout Greater 

London and its neighboring regions. To prevent 

the masses of spectators and commuters from 

overloading the transit systems in London, the 

EFA-System was enhanced to include special 

rules that send Olympic spectators along individual 

routes to their destinations at the various 

stadiums and sporting venues. 

The Spectator Journey Planner can be found at 

http://travel.london2012.com/SJPWeb/Pages/JourneyPlannerInput.aspx


News in Brief 

Erin meets EFA 

mdv won the tender for a National Intermodal 

Journey Planner presented by the National 

Transport Authority of the Republic of Ireland 

(NTA). The journey planner, dubbed 'Transport 

for Ireland', will offer a classic web portal as well 

as a mobile phone and app version. DIVA4 and 

the DDIP will work in the background to 

process both static and real-time data. Data will 

be imported from the country’s two largest bus 

operators, Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann, as well 

as from Irish Rail services. Smaller operators will 

either manage their data directly in DIVA Web 

or have it taken care of by the NTA. 

RBS orders DIVA Deployment 

The Regional Transport Company Bern 

Solothurn (RBS) has chosen to the purchase the 

DIVA planning system through a tender 

process. The RBS transports more than 80,000 

passengers every day on four rail lines and 10 

bus lines in the Region of Bern Solothurn. 

With the acquisition of the DIVA Deployment in 

Worblaufen, the headquarters of the RBS, they 

have now completed the chain of DIVA components 

from network planning to deployment. A 

specialty of this project is the recently experimental 

use of iPhones as MBAs (mobile operating 

assistants), which also communicate with 

DIVA Deployment. 

DIVA 4 at the VVS 

The first major transport authority in Germany, 

the Transport and Tariff Association of Stuttgart 

(VVS), switched from DIVA3 to DIVA4. Since 

September 2011, the entry of timetable data 

has been done using DIVA 4. All print media 

and EFA data are generated from DIVA4. 

We are pleased that the VVS, the third user 

behind DEFAS Bavaria and the Olympic Journey 

Planner (GB), has now gone live with EFA 10. We 

are grateful for the commitment of the employees 

at the VVS as well as for the good cooperation 

they demonstrated during the comprehensive 

conversion to our new product generation. 

(v.li.) Herr Torlach und Herr Kappler vom VVS arbeiten 

mit DIVA 4 

Successful Partnership Extended 

Originally in 1988, DIVA and EFA were products 

developed together with the MVV and VVS, 

being co-owned. In 2001, mdv took over the 

shares of the authorities and has since then 

been the sole owner. At that time, the authorities 

entered a 10-year user agreement, which 

governed the commitment of VVS and MVV for 

any new mdv developments. This year, 10 years 

later, all participants are happy to continue their 

very positive cooperation, extending the contract 

for another 10 years. The partnership of 

more than 20 years between MVV, VVS and mdv 

is an excellent example that even in the fastpaced 

IT industry long-term cooperation is not 

only possible, but can be very successful as well. 

Upcoming Events 

20/21 October 2011 in Bremerhaven 

49 th User Group 

Host: 

Transport Authority of Bremerhaven - 

Bremerhavenbus 

Zur Hexenbrücke 11 

27570 Bremerhaven 

IT-TRANS 

IT Solutions for Public Transport 

15 - 17 February 2012, Karlsruhe, Germany 

26/27. April 2012 

50 th User Group (international) 

in Munich 

InnoTrans 2012 

International Trade Fair for Transport 

Technology 

18 - 21 September 2012, Berlin

Multi-modal Trip Planning for the San Francisco Bay Area - Mentz ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?