Optibus announced its expansion beyond the bus sector into ferry operations.

The announcement comes with Optibus’ signing of HADAG, the ferry operator for the city of Hamburg, Germany, for its Planning, Scheduling, Rostering, and Operations software solution.

Optibus' History with Bus Networks

Until now, Optibus has focused on fine-tuning its software to meet the needs of fixed-route bus networks, which are at the core of almost every public transportation network around the world

Demand for Optibus’ software and innovation within the bus sector has seen Optibus hit a series of milestones. Usage of Optibus’ software grew to 4,000 cities across 35 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

Buses are only one way of transporting passengers from A to B. In many of the cities where Optibus’ software is used, the transportation network includes multiple modes of mobility.

Expanding Into Ferry Transportation

Optibus is now expanding its technology beyond the bus sector. Starting with ferry operators.

Optibus’ expansion from the roads to the seas will first see the company’s software optimize ferry travel in Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany.

There, HADAG, the city’s publicly-owned ferry operator and a subsidiary of Hamburger Hochbahn, will implement Optibus’ entire end-to-end system, consisting of Planning, Scheduling, Rostering, and Operations products, across their departments to digitize their manual and paper-based workflows and bring the benefits and usability of cloud-native technology to their operation. 

HADAG is a historic player in Hamburg’s passenger transportation network. Established in 1888, its network spans 330,000 nautical miles of the River Elbe (the equivalent of circling the world 11 times).

Its fleet comprises 26 vessels that can transport anywhere between 114 and 250 passengers at a time, and - just as in the bus sector - is being upgraded to replace diesel-electric models with electric hybrids to become a zero-emissions fleet.   

HADAG's Use of Optibus Software

In addition to enhancing its fleet, HADAG is investing in its planning and operational infrastructure. Using Optibus’ software, the ferry operator will introduce artificial intelligence, optimization algorithms, and cloud technology to its workflows.

The software’s user-friendly interface makes these advanced tools easy for anyone to master. This was a consideration for HADAG, as their schedulers and dispatchers have a diverse workload that also includes operating ships.