EMS Keeps Passengers Well-Informed in Sydney
Since November 2021, Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) has been using MENTZ’s Event Management System (EMS), a powerful yet flexible tool, to quickly and reliably inform passengers of service or route changes. The MENTZ EMS, which is called the “Service Alerts Management System” (SAMS) at TfNSW, ensures that notifications can be sent out within seconds of an incident or event and that customers are informed with identical messages on all channels.
Connection to Numerous Info Systems
Examples of systems to which the EMS is connected include multiple TfNSW and third-party apps, social media channels such as Twitter, various websites, push services, electronic displays at stations and stops, the award-winning TfNSW chatbot, voice-controlled devices like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant, and the New South Wales Open Data Platform. Connection to such a wide range of systems benefits the millions of passengers in New South Wales who rely on improved service and up-to-date information when planning their journeys.
“Our EMS enables extensive controls to automate workflow and lighten the workload for TfNSW employees in the Traffic Management Centre as well as in affiliated transport companies. One example is the ability to automatically create incident notifications. A second example is the activity tool that is used to create and maintain notifications of faulty infrastructure, like for escalators that are not operating or for elevators that are currently under maintenance,” said Andreas Mohr, Project Manager and Customer Consultant at MENTZ, describing the TfNSW system. Seamless data supply for public transport users in and around Sydney also guarantees having key information on accessibility, for wheelchair users or passengers with babies or small children.
Another important new feature that the MENTZ development team implemented was the importing of service alerts from Sydney Trains. This feature represents an important building block for the EMS as a central incident management system that streamlines public transport messages in New South Wales.
Successful MENTZ Project Management
In order to customize the EMS for TfNSW, MENTZ had thoroughly prepared workshops for the project back in January 2021. “That was time well spent for both parties involved. We spoke every day with the project managers in Australia and were thus, able to start development in March 2021,” affirmed Pascal Schwarz, Program Manager at MENTZ. The new system replaces MENTZ’s EMS-predecessor, the “Incident Capturing System” (ICS), which had been in use since 2013. After handing over the system in October, and an extensive 4-week test phase, the EMS now in operation processes approx. 100 alerts daily.