Deep integration of Savvy’s On-Demand Mobility solution with ÖBB Postbus in Austria: taking stock after 4 years of collaboration

Since 2018, Savvy Mobility is a proud provider of the software solution used by ÖBB Postbus (Österreichische Postbus Aktiengesellschaft) for its “Postbus Shuttle” services. ÖBB Postbus is operating under this brand in several rural areas but also as feeder services to and from train stations across Austria. As the largest bus operator in Austria and forming part of the Austrian national railway company, ÖBB Postbus serves 1,800 municipalities and transports 213 million passengers per year. Learn more about this unique project in this blog entry.

Published: 2022-06-06

In 2019 Savvy won a competitive public procurement, one of the biggest of its kind to-date, to provide ÖBB Postbus with a comprehensive On-Demand Mobility SaaS solution. This procurement followed several pilot services with multiple providers in the previous year and lead ÖBB Postbus to strengthen their role as a leader in public transport in regions and areas with no or insufficient such service. Savvy has developed a powerful and unique system matching ÖBB Postbus’s demanding requirements of a scalable nation-wide On-Demand mobility software that is integrated into current systems in public transport in Austria. This has helped Savvy acquire a unique expertise: ensuring a deep integration of Savvy’s five core modules (see our blog entry) into ÖBB Postbus and other existing public transport systems.

On one hand, we integrated Savvy into the national intermodal travel planning App “Wegfinder” where passengers can book trips in addition to the white-labelled “Postbus Shuttle” that is maintained by Savvy. To our knowledge, the depth and complexity of this integration is unique since it replicates all of Savvy’s core functionalities (travel information, booking, payment, ticketing, communication, etc.) in an external App with a more general purpose. But it is also unique in its non-technological embedding in a nation-wide transport system involving multiple legal and operational constraints as well as regional differences in terms of fares, client access, partner operators, etc. Furthermore, this co-development over multiple years has given birth to, amongst others, one of the most comprehensive fare-setting systems that can account for multiple passenger fare categories and combined calculation logics (mileage, zones, fixed price, etc.), discount codes, vouchers, multiple external discount cards (“climate ticket”, regional subscriptions, etc.), but also discounts that depend on whether a trip is pooled or not.

On the other hand, Savvy’s API has allowed for an integration into the national ticketing solution of the Austrian Railways, “Ticketshop” (link). Intermodal trips also appear on this centralized ticketing platform. Through this double integration, ÖBB Postbus passengers can seamlessly search and book combinations of normal public transport and on-demand mobility. This combines with various operational integrations into specific systems ÖBB-Postbus is using in terms of accounting, driver management, estimated time of arrival on digital screens at bus stops where On-Demand services operate.

ÖBB Postbus has recently extended its service to seven municipalities in the region of Mondseeland (link) in addition to its portfolio – and more regions are very likely to be announced soon. A key feature in the most recent roll-out is that Savvy’s solution now allows to offer a discounted price depending on the number of passengers on a given booking to incentivize higher usage of the service. This showcases the maturity and flexibility of Savvy. Within almost 4 years of cooperation with ÖBB, we have built a strong partnership with Postbus-ÖBB of which we are very proud. We are looking forward to implementing the acquired expertise in deep integration paired with a Savvy’s versatile proprietary core software with more partners. If you are interested in a stable, comprehensive, and compatible On-Demand Mobility software, feel free to reach out to explore the possibilities together!