Traveling smart
The PT division is following the developments in public transit around the world, including bus innovations, using alternative energy, changing consumer habits and more.
Egged is getting ready for the future
The PT division is following the developments in public transit around the world, including bus innovations, using alternative energy, changing consumer habits and more.
In order to continue to lead the public transport industry in Israel, the division finds and tests current and future tools, technologies and practices that aim to improve Egged's public transit services, contribute to the environment and most of all, improve the public transit experience for all passengers.
TRAFFILOG – more comfort, less energy
Nearly a decade ago, Israeli TRAFFILOG has developed a "black box" which is designed for monitoring all driving features, including energy consumption, and vehicle wear and tear.
The Egged PT division adopted the company's solution and assimilated it in some of the buses.
It quickly became apparent that relaxed and planned driving saves on the bus’s gas consumption. But TRAFFILOG does more than this! The system contributes to reduced air pollution, improved energy efficiency and even the passengers benefit from it: they testify that on buses where the system is installed the trip feels safer and more pleasant.
E-buses – the future is here
The Europeans have already decided that electric buses are the best alternative for reliable, quality service, which cuts on gas consumption and carbon emissions while protecting the environment. By the year 2025, only electric buses will travel across the European Union.
Egged has also started assimilating electric buses, aiming to integrate about 60 electric buses manufactured by BYD, by the year 2020, which will replace diesel engine buses.
To date, the electric buses are already operating in urban lines in the Haifa Metropolitan Area, and soon they will also replace some of the buses in Jerusalem. The passengers and drivers report that the journey on an electric bus is faster, more comfortable, quieter, and more pleasant.
Once the travel range without charging, which is currently nearly 125 miles, will increase, the electric buses will also be integrated into the intercity lines.
Alongside all of this, the division is reviewing the option to integrate hybrid buses into Egged's fleet.
Getting ready for autonomic buses
Israeli Mobileye is currently conducting testing programs for autonomous vehicles throughout Israel, and the bus sector is also awaiting news. Autonomous buses will be managed by a professional driver in Assisted Driving mode, in other words: some of the bus systems will operate autonomously but the driver will supervise the journey and will be able to take back control of the wheel at any time.
The PT division is preparing for a pilot in 2020, which will integrate the autonomous buses, without passengers at this stage, into the Egged service plan.
Ride-on demand – soon in Jerusalem
Close to a year ago, the Ministry of Transport looked into integrating ride-on-demand into the public transit network. In this context, Egged will conduct a pilot in Jerusalem and another additional location (to be defined later), which will include many minibusses, for some thousand subscribers who will register on the Egged application in advance. The app will be used for requesting a ride, monitoring its arrival, paying and leaving feedback about the ride.
Ride-on-demand is very popular around the world because it provides fast public transit by minibuses, when and where the passengers need it. This way, time and distances shorten significantly, and the passengers get better and more accurate service. These advantages all made ride-on-demand one of the more popular options in New York, London, and other cities around the world.