Overview
Enhancing interconnectivity of short and long distance transport networks through passenger focused interlinked information-connectivity.
Project IC-IC will develop an ICS (InfoConnectivity System), involving the airports of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Vienna, related ground transport and airlines, representing both short- & long-distance transport.
Many stakeholders will get involved in a stakeholders forum and conference. By providing currently missing information which travellers already wish to have with regard to facilities/services of their next immediate destination and/or next transport provider(s), the ICS is expected to improve the travelling experience and to increase the speed of change between transport modes.
Much of such information can be provided while waiting, e.g. in the airport train/bus, the lounge, the airplane, utilizing camera mobile phones to connect to information provided by QR (Quick Response) codes, and mobile phones fitted with NFC (Near Field Communication) able to connect to respective tags.
To provide ICS information to the multi-lingual target group of travellers, language translation software will be employed to offer all information in 14 languages with English as the reference language. Requirements of the ageing population are considered by utilizing the "Age Explorer", a suit that lets test persons experience the obstacles old persons encounter when moving, filling out forms, operating "Self Check-in", or a ticket machine.
About 1000 persons in 3 countries will be interviewed, information of stakeholders collected, model ICS applications developed and implemented to serve in real live situations. The effectiveness of the InfoConnectivity improvements will be assessed with regard to gained speed and ease of passenger transfer between transport networks. Based on this, an ICS handbook will be elaborated.
Funding
Results
Overcoming gaps in travel information provision
An EU initiative designed an information system to improve the transportation of passengers by enhancing intermodality.
Europe's research into integrated transport services includes developing smart information systems for intermodal travel. These are necessary to meet the information needs of passengers before and during journeys across different transport modes.
With EU funding, the project 'Enhancing interconnectivity through infoconnectivity' (http://www.ic-ic.eu/ (IC-IC)) developed an infoconnectivity system (ICS) that provides useful information to passengers while they are travelling, and explicitly while changing transport modes.
The project carried out a survey in three European countries to assess what information customers were lacking. Based on the results, it completed a theoretical assessment of what further information was required by modelling different personas, journeys and scenarios. All the resulting information that travellers wanted was then tested in field investigations.
Project partners evaluated the suitability of different technological possibilities for an information and communication technologies (ICT)-enhanced ICS. Available technologies that generate information to be displayed on a traveller's handheld communication device were investigated. The aim was to find a way to connect to the ICT-enhanced ICS in order to provide information on mobile devices.
Architecture for the ICT-enhanced ICS was designed to accommodate the different traveller requirements, technical infrastructures and systems in place at airports. More than 14 different languages can be stored.
The development, implementation and testing of the ICS were carried out based on the ICT-enhanced ICS results. The ICS combines existing travel information from multiple sources such as mobility service providers and airport operators. It also supplements this available data where possible. The system works by enabling editors to generate new data and create connections to their own data sources.
In addition to smartphones, passengers will find their personal travel information available on all devices, from airport information systems and ticketing machines to on-board devices.
By developing a one-stop shop application for all travel information, IC-IC should improve the experience and speed of travelling and make overall passenger handling more effective.