T-Systems International acquires Dortmund based software company GeoMobile. Through this acquisition, the Deutsche Telekom subsidiary is strengthening’s its portfolio for transport and logistics with an IT platform for barrier-free urban mobility. GeoMobile is a young company, active in the growth market of intermodal mobility. It offers public transport operators a mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platform.
This platform bundles the entire mobility offering of a transport region be it the company’s own or that of third-party providers. A range of mobility services tailored to the travelers’ needs is expected to make it more appealing to give up driving one’s own vehicle. Passengers plan, book, and pay for their trip by bus and train, as well as connections via car sharing or rental bikes all from their smartphone. They receive travel information in real time. The platform consists of an app framework for passengers, hardware components and a software cloud solution. The cloud platform together with retrofittable communication modules turns vehicles into smart objects. This so-called in-vehicle solution enables barrier-free driving assistance via smartphone. With this acquisition, the Deutsche Telekom subsidiary is strengthening its market position for MaaS solutions and in-vehicle intelligence in the DACH region.
“The transformation of mobility is taking place. Public transport will further expand its vital role. With the help of mobility platforms, transport companies are mastering the challenges of digitalisation. In the future, they will be able to offer their passengers mobility with all modes of public transport within a region, simply and digitally via app. In this way, they are making the much needed mobility transformation attractive,” says Peter Lorenz, senior vice president digital solutions at T-Systems International.
The app for smartphones is a white-label mobility app which provides route calculation from starting point to destination, booking and payment all from a unified source. Local public transport, cabs, rental bikes, car sharing and navigation for walking routes complement each other smoothly. GeoMobile’s check-in/be-out procedure turns the cell phone into a ticket. All it takes to check in to the vehicle is a swipe of the smartphone. The system registers when the user then leaves the vehicle.
Communication modules can be retrofitted into vehicles and selectively along travel routes, to enable barrier-free travel assistance. They also improve operational processes via associated IT applications. For example, vehicle data can be transmitted for fleet management purposes, such as tank and battery levels or engine speed. The solution offers a programming interface for easy integration of the functions into existing public transport apps. The Mobility Data Cloud bundles all data and seamlessly links the mobility platform with control centres, third-party systems, and information and payment systems. It records vehicle utilisation and provides relevant services for mobility management/traffic control in an online portal.
“T-Systems is well established in the public transport sector and has a full-service portfolio for buses and trains. We hope the transaction will give us broader market access in the DACH region and synergies from joint product development, such as modular vehicle components in the Internet of Things,” explains Michael Gerhard, CEO of GeoMobile. Its solutions are used in twelve transport companies with over 20 million passengers daily.
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