Demonstration of Public Transport Priority via V2X in Hamburg within the ITS-Cube Project

During the UITP Summit in Hamburg (Mobility Festival – "Technical Visit section"), a demonstration was held within the ITS-Cube project (motto: when traffic lights and buses understand each other), where, in cooperation with our company, the integration of an onboard unit (OBU) — represented by our UCU device — with onboard computers from other manufacturers was presented to the professional public for the first time. The communication was based on the international PTX protocol, which is expected to be standardized in the future as the German norm VDV 435.

The entire demonstration was organized by the City of Hamburg and the public transport company Hamburger Hochbahn, with our UCU unit playing a key role in the presentation. Everything worked to the satisfaction of the festival participants, as shown in the attached video. On the onboard computer display and the passenger-facing LCD screen in the showcased vehicle, the signal phase diagram is shown, based on communication between the OBU and the RSU at the traffic controller. This allows the driver to see how much time remains until the green light and adjust the vehicle’s speed accordingly.

The international PTX protocol defines internal communication within the fare collection and passenger information systems of public transport vehicles, significantly simplifying the implementation of many passenger-oriented functions. Drawing on our experience with V2X communication and its integration with our EPIS onboard computers, we played a key role in the development and definition of a new interface between a general onboard computer and the OBU, based on the PTX protocol.

In this case, the result was a demonstration of public transport vehicle prioritization using SREM and SSEM messages. This standardization takes in-vehicle communication for public transport priority solutions to a new level. The interface was developed in cooperation with companies such as Herman, Trapeze, IVU, and Yunex. The new interface is compatible with both our proven UCU 5.0 units and the brand-new UCU 6.0, which elevates the capabilities of the UCU 5.0 to the next level.

And we presented a similar communication method for public transport priority in the city of Brno for KORDIS JMK a.s., with the support of Brněnské komunikace a.s., as shown in the following demo: Public Transport and Emergency Vehicle Priority Using V2X.