Navibus is the first information system adapted to public transport systems. Withstanding daily commutes; users of public transport are often disoriented when linking different modes of transportation during a single trip. Buses, subways, trams, trains, and coaches can now be equipped with this system helping travelers manage their time and their connections with less stress.

Vehicles are equipped with a dual digital high-definition screen hanging from the ceiling that distributes a multimedia content loop, including maps and audio, which tracks the vehicle’s position. “The goal is to have a continuous stream of helpful information that corresponds to each stage of a traveler’s journey,” says Jean-Claude Degand, president and founder of Moviken-SLE. The information provided will appear in a specific sequence from an initial view of the overall plan with journey times and connections between different modes of transport, all the way to the configuration of platforms, crosswalks, and connections of upcoming stops, and maps of the area.

iTransports, the precursor of Navibus

In truth, Navibus is the declination of iTransports, an innovative system launched in 2006 on the web and at the end of 2007 on mobile phones by Moviken. With this application, mobile users connected to the Internet could already track their journey, combining different modes of transport: “The goal is to quickly provide a comprehensive itinerary using public transport across a district from start to finish,” says Jean-Claude Degand.

In 2009, Moviken reached another milestone with the takeover of SLE, which allowed them bring Navibus into the world. “Navibus is the child of iTransports on one hand, and on the other of SLE’s some 25 years of experience in onboard vehicle electronic equipment. It’s a combination of creativity and experience,” said Jean-Claude Degand.

Comprehensive information for travelers

It is incidentally iTransports that allowed the company to map and integrate into the database 6000 lines of public transport and 400 urban transport networks in France.  Installing Navibus on a network requires only a distillation and appropriate adaptation of that database, which will happen “in only a few months.”

The equipment costs about 10,000 euros per vehicle, depending on the network specifics, but it replaces a number of existing tools, notably printed supports like diagrams, which are very expensive to alter, and allows the integration of all the bus’ tools of communication, such as vanes and surveillance cameras.

Today the company is expanding its services through its European subsidiaries and is poised to install its system within one of the largest French players in the sector. The company is also looking to take advantage of mobile phone technologies like Bluetooth and flashcodes, which could allow users to directly access the information broadcast in the vehicle via their mobile phones.  Finally, Moviken-SLE is considering adapting the navigation system to bikes, the big urban trend in recent years. The project baptized iTransports 2.0 is supported by the Secretariat of State charged with the development of the digital economy: the evolution of iTransports and of Navibus will logically follow the current trend of sustainable mobility.

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Translated by Genny Cortinovis

Related content : multi-modal transportation, Navibus, public transport