With the emergence of the Internet of Vehicles, airport shuttle buses are no longer merely vehicles for transporting passengers. Instead, they are becoming key factors for increasing efficiency and service quality in the highly competitive air travel industry.
By Liao Peijun with images provided by Advantech. Interview with Angus Shih, Business Development Manager of Intelligent Logistics
Improving Passengers’ Airport Transit Experience
Meanwhile, the in vehicle surveillance footage is streamed to the back end management center to allow vehicle monitoring and remote support. In cases of emergency, drivers can also use the in-vehicle device to call for assistance. In regards to optimizing fleet management, the in-vehicle computers allow the centralized dispatch unit to remotely monitor the location of all airport shuttle buses.Additionally, by installing passenger counting sensors at transfer gates and terminal doors, administrators are able to estimate passenger numbers and dispatch additional buses if necessary. The implementation of at ire-pressure monitoring system and CAN bus network enables vehicle data to be collected in real time. Dispatch managers can also send information to the in-vehicle computers to provide drivers with instructions, updated work schedules, and navigation guidance. Moreover,managers can use the collected vehicle data to monitor driver behavior in order to increase driving safety and minimize vehicle wear and tear.Superior Management and Airport Service.
According to statistics provided by INFORM GmbH,the average airport can recoup the initial costs of implementing smart shuttle buses in as little as three months. However, smart shuttle buses can provide long term savings of up to 20 million (approximately US$23 million). Not surprisingly, many airports in Europe have adopted the Ground Star smart shuttle bus solution to improve the management and efficiency of their shuttle bus services. For example, at Zurich International Airport in Switzerland, this smart shuttle bus solution has been used adjust airport operations in accordance with the Schengen Agreement. The Schengen Agreement effectively abolished most of European Union’s internal borders, enabling passport-free movement for EU nationals throughout all member states. Accordingly,Zurich International Airport now has separate areas and procedures for passengers traveling to Schengen and non-Schengen destinations. With the Ground Star smart shuttle bus solution, if a shuttle bus carrying passengers from non-Schengen countries parks in front of a gate designated for travel within Schengen countries, the fleet dispatcher can notify the driver and direct them to the appropriate gate. Additionally, in-vehicle LED displays can be used to inform passengers which stop corresponds to the appropriate terminal for their travel.
At Frankfurt Airport in Germany, the smart shuttle bus solution was adopted to improve fleet management efficiency with the collection of comprehensive vehicle data, including gasoline consumption and maintenance history. This data allows administrators to identify areasfor improvement, such as reducing gasoline consumption by minimizing engine-idle times, in order to optimize operations. Administrators can also monitor the location of every shuttle bus for flexible and efficient vehicle dispatch to handle peak traffic, effectively reducing passenger wait times.
The many benefits experienced by these international airports demonstrate that airport shuttle buses are no longer merely vehicles for transporting passengers.Instead, the Internet of Vehicles and smart airport shuttle buses are key factors for increasing airport efficiency and service quality. The integrated hardware and software solution jointly created by INFORM GbmH and Advantech have given shuttle buses the intelligence to support real time communication with back end management systems,optimizing fleet management and enabling improvements to all aspects of airport service.