Public transport efficiency in Bonn

  • Transparency in terms of costs, revenues and profitability
  • Clear presentation of the range of services
  • Transport model as basis for predictive line profit and loss calculation
  • Controlling instrument for limiting losses in a sustainable manner

    • It is the task of public transport operators to offer passengers sufficient accessible transport, while ensuring cost-efficient transport services. Therefore, they must regularly furnish proof of operational efficiency. 

  • Project description

    Our consultants regularly provide Stadtwerke Bonn Verkehrs-GmbH (SWBV) with a comprehensive and clear analysis of their range of services in the form of a line costing calculation. SWBV thus meets the requirements of its contractor (the City of Bonn) to document the economic efficiency of its public transport services. The data is usually updated annually.

  • Allocate and assess costs and revenues

      • The line costing calculation analyses the costs of the public transport services and compares these with the fare revenues. The difference is the contribution margin.
      • By creating a detailed analysis of the range of transport services and of the passenger demand in relation to the services, it is possible to make a precise statement about the contribution margin for networks, transport areas and lines.

      SWBV can thus assess the contribution of each line to the overall result. Moreover, they are able to identify line segments that cause deficits and to enhance cost transparency for cooperation lines. This controlling instrument helps them limit losses in a sustainable manner.

  • Transport model as a basis

      • Stadtwerke Bonn rely on a transport model as the basis for its line costing calculation.
      • Their transport experts can thus precisely analyse line and area specific parameters as well as the linkage to the passenger volume of the individual lines.
      • The timetable data required for the analysis are taken from the ‘microbus’ timetable and duty scheduling program.
      • The data is imported to the transport planning software PTV VISUM (Link) via the existing interface.
      • The travel demand data is based on a passenger survey (link to portfolio page) conducted by PTV for revenue sharing.
      • The distance and time-related parameters (e.g. passenger kilometres or service time) are calculated as part of the assignment.
      • Thanks to the GIS functionalities of the software, it is also possible to provide and visualise the parameters of the regional authorities.

  • Predictive line costing calculation

    • By using the transport model as the basis for line costing calculation, Stadtwerke Bonn has chosen an approach that allows them to carry out a predictive economic quantification of measures in addition to a retrospective line costing calculation. For this purpose, the basis of the previously used principle of the breakdown of total costs and revenues (top-down principle) is reversed. The individual costs are now available as input variables for SWBV’s transport model (bottom-up principle). A fare model creates the link to the revenues to be achieved.

      • The modelling of a measure in the transport model shows the economic effects on the overall economic result.
      • This means not only the status quo of the transport services, but also planned actions can be assessed in detail.

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