SIEMENS

According to "Megacity Challenges," a study Siemens commissioned from UK transport consultants MRC McLean Hazel in 2007, the central problem facing cities with ten million or more inhabitants is how to ensure mobility. In a follow-up analysis — "Vienna: A Complete Mobility Study" — the same company has now shown that the study’s conclusions also apply to smaller cities such as Vienna, with its 2.5 million inhabitants. Transport experts from MRC McLean Hazel confirm that Vienna is one the world’s most attractive places to live and a model city for modern mobility. As a key transport and logistics hub at the heart of Europe, Vienna is currently reaping the rewards of a long-term strategy that embraces all modes of transport. What’s more, the city plans to expand its public transport infrastructure while assigning a low priority to automobile traffic in the city center and promoting the interests of cyclists, and pedestrians.
"The study shows how successful Vienna has been in implementing an efficient transport strategy that could serve as a model for cities everywhere," says Dr. Hans-Jörg Grundmann, CEO of the Siemens Mobility Division, in reference to Vienna’s "Transport Master Plan 2003," which covers the period until 2020.
The Greater Vienna area has 227 km of streetcar tracks, one of the largest streetcar networks in the world. The mass transit network run by transport operator Wiener Linien is over 960 km in length, including 116 subway, streetcar, and bus lines with 4,559 stops, from which any location in the city can be reached within 15 minutes on foot.
On weekdays, public transport accounts for up to 35 % of total traffic, one of the highest mass transit quotients in the world. Wiener Linien plans to increase this share to 40 % by 2013 with capital expenditures of €1.8 billion, some of which will be used to extend existing subway lines and build new streetcar lines in outlying districts.
Summer 2009 saw the launch of an overarching transport management system that benefits 200,000 commuters each day. The system provides route planning and calculates travel times in real time across all modes of transport. It is supported with a host of traffic data, most of which is gathered and processed by sensor systems from Siemens. "We’ve already provided a lot of a products and solutions involved in the implementation of Vienna’s transport master plan," says Grundmann. These solutions include 44 high-speed trains for intercity connections and 40 subway trains as well as the associated control, signaling, and safety technology; 300 ultra-low-floor streetcars, which Siemens is delivering to the city’s transport operator at the rate of 15 to 20 per year; and, last but not least, a Siemens system to control traffic lights on the basis of traffic volumes, with a view to smoothing traffic flow and to preventing gridlock.

Holistic Approach. "Vienna is pioneering a holistic mobility strategy. And the city is now putting our complete mobility concept into practice," says Grundmann. The goal of the complete mobility approach is to network different transport systems with one another as effectively as possible.
"The realization of this complete mobility concept involves close cooperation with Siemens IT Solutions and Services," Grundmann explains. The fruits of this collaboration include a control system for public transport called "PTnova" that was developed with Wiener Linien and is now running as a pilot project.
PTnova controls all sales-related processes such as ticketing, customer management and the administration of season tickets. It also automates the entire data flow. Any mobile or static ticket machines, ticket printers, and point-of-sale systems can be connected to PTnova. "The use of enhanced information and communications technology can make mobility chains more efficient and public transport more attractive," says Grundmann.
PTnova’s capabilities are exactly in line with the recommendations of transport experts from MRC McLean Hazel. Their study proposes the use of so-called personalized smart media for the city. This smart card-based application would combine ticketing not only with access to leisure activities — for example, entry to museums, libraries, and swimming pools — but also with special incentives such as bonus schemes for saved CO₂ emissions. As a result, it would help to attract more customers to public transport.