Warsaw

A day at the Warsaw Transport Authority ZTM

How data and the figures from Automatic Passenger Counting are shaping the public transport of the future

We love public transport

We can say that in one sentence about all the people who make public transport better. Not only we, who produce equipment that serves to optimize public transport, but especially those people who manage public transport, provide transport services and take care of the memory of the historic vehicles - are the ones who create public transport with passion.

Last year, Warsaw Transport Authority (ZTM) organized an auction to support the organization of the Wielka Orkiestra Swiatecznej Pomocy (WOSP) Christmas Charity Orchestra. The auction offered a day behind the scenes of the Warsaw Public Transport Company and thus a wonderful opportunity to get an insight into how public transport is organized in Warsaw. Proceeds from the auction will support the purchase of equipment for the laryngology (ENT) and diagnostic pediatric clinics.

 

In recent years, Warsaw has invested a huge amount in infrastructure development and in the digitalization of public transport. Their solutions have now become a model for national and international cities. In particular, the extent to which the passenger counting data from our IRMA sensors is used for traffic planning and adaptation to the needs of passengers is impressive.

Our colleague Tomasz Gawryluk - responsible for sales in Eastern Europe - was spurred on to participate in the auction by the charitable purpose as well as the opportunity to visit the halls of Warsaw Public Transport.

Here is a summary of this extraordinary day for those of you who love public transport as much as we do.

The visit gave everyone a special opportunity to meet people who shape public transport and are its enthusiasts: both representatives of ZTM and the Warsaw Public Transport Friends Club. An amazingly organized day: unique places and motivated, hospitable people accompanied this extraordinary day.

The work of the entire ZTM Warsaw institution, each department and all the individual employees who contribute there is impressive.

Both Mrs. Katarzyna Strzegowska, the Director, and Mr. Tomasz Rupiewicz, the Deputy Director, took time for a personal interview and introduced the day with all its stages.

The PN Department of the Traffic Center is where the heart of public transport management is managed. Of particular interest: a vehicle location map that showed vehicles exceeding occupancy limits. It allows the ZTM staff to react appropriately (send additional vehicles or increase the frequency of vehicles) when occupancy limits are exceeded. In many projects, we attend the implementation of the sensors and talk about the possibilities that the passenger count data offers. However, we have never had the opportunity to see applications at a site of this scale that process the data from our counting sensors in such a simple, yet versatile way.

The Cerber mobile application builds a complete picture for ZTM about the equipment and history of each vehicle. Moreover, thanks to this application, they can find out what components and systems make up each vehicle - registered for public transport in Warsaw: including information about our IRMA sensors with an additional description of their 3D technology.

In the Traffic Organization Department, a program is used to model the routes. It shows a picture of the entire Warsaw metropolitan area and allows for long-term planning of schedules.

In the FT area (the so-called laboratory test of passenger information systems), the certification of passenger information systems and their thorough testing takes place. Here one also has insight into the test results of the automatic counting systems.

The heart of data processing can be found in the FA department - the so-called Data Warehouse. Here you can learn everything about the operation of public transport from the perspective of numbers. One can learn here which private transport operators carried the most passengers in a given month and how ridership declined during the COVID-19 epidemic.

A special place is the Public Transport Company (MZA) depot in Wloscianska Street. Here the history of public transport is documented and recorded. The buses that have carried generations through their elementary school, high school and college years are restored and maintained here in long rows. As a visitor, one has an insight into the development of passenger information systems. The passion of the people from the Friends of Public Transport Club in Warsaw - especially Mr. Robert Człapiński - is impressive. It is good that there are still places like this where the whole history of public transport is preserved and maintained.

We thank you for this incredibly inspiring day behind the scenes at Warsaw Public Transport. We thank the people who passionately shared their knowledge with us. People who are not just going about their work, but are fully committed to the idea of constantly improving public transport.

Thank you ZTM

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