Swiss public transport project to rollout AI pilot to streamline services

Swiss operators BLS, Schweizerische Südwestbah and PostAuto have joined forces under the ÖV42 project with the Canton of St. Gallen and the climate cooperative 42hacks. Together, they will explore the possibilities of using artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly streamline public transport.

According to the parties involved, a new approach is necessary in making public transport more agile and future-proof. As such, a data-drive approach will explored to optimise planning and future infrastructure investments.

For example, through the use of AI, the participants can discover where people still predominantly drive their cars. In one-such case, this is because there is no direct train connection. “With a so-called pop-up train, we now want to try out whether we can use a direct connection to get motorists excited about public transport”, BLS CEO Daniel Schafer says.

In other pilot project as part of ÖV42, ten individuals will give up their cars for a month and only use public transport. They will also receive a card for the use of e-bikes, shuttle services and a month-long mobility subscription as part of the trial.

In the eastern part of Switzerland, the Schweizerische Südwestbahn and PostBus are planning to make additional services available and offer direct connections to ski resorts in combination with a skipass.

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