Prompt ticket machine repair

Summary

Brno wanted to improve the quality of the public transport system. One of the measures the city was taking towards this end was the introduction of a new system that ensured that defective public transport ticket machines were attended to promptly.

Implementing sustainable mobility

Brno wanted to fit ticket machines with a system of wireless modems that are automatically inform the control centre of any problems. This is enable defects to be fixed quickly and efficiently.

The main objective of the measure was to:

• Increased the quality and attractiveness of the public transport service.

In addition to enhanced quality of the public transport offer through prompt repairs, the new technology helps to optimise operational costs.

Progress

Brno has defined the technical requirements for the functionality of the system to allow for automatic transmission from the ticket machines to the control centre. The municipality has weighed different options to find the best technological and economical solution. The system was initially installed on 10 ticket machines and on one computer in the control centre. After the completion of the test phase, other 149 machines were equipped with the new technology. 

The measure continues after the end of the project.

Outcomes

Final results:

1. Recovery of ticket sales in vending machines –  The initial expectation was that the number of tickets sold in vending machine would rise by 5%. This indicator is strongly however influenced by the economic situation and the rise in tariff approved by the City of Brno. Since 2009 the change in the number of tickets sold in vending machines was negatively influenced by the economic crisis and decreasing demand for public transport (-3%). However, we could see some slow economic recovery watching the macroeconomic indicators in 2011 (+7% compared with 2009, +11% compared with 2010). The target has therefore been achieved, but this cannot be completely attributed to this measure.
2. Increase in number of complaints - this indicator has doubled since the beginning of the project, although a decrease of 10% was expected. As the tariffs have risen, DPMB receives a complaint when its ticket vending machine does not sell the ticket correctly. Another reason for this tendency is an important increase of ticket vending machines voluntary waste by vandals.
3. Decreased number of defects - this indicator has dropped by half since the measure implementation, so the target of decreasing by 10% was exceeded. DPMB and the ticket vending machine manufacturer try to adapt the software so the vending machine can solve the most frequent and easy defects by itself.
4. Decreased dead time of vending machine - after the implementation of the measure, the indicator has fallen by one third or by 15h. The initial goal was to shorten the out-of-order time with 10h and in 2012 this was almost 15 hours. The target of a decrease by 10h was thus exceeded.
5. Positive CBA results – the net present value of the introduction of the ticket vending machine is estimated positively at 1 833 315 Euro over 6 years, Although the initial investment for the GPRS modules and new control centre was high, their operational and maintenance savings due to the decreased dead time have been very significant so the initial investment should be repaid within the ticket vending machines lifetime.