At the upcoming Transport & Ticketing event in London (29-30 January), Ximedes will be exhibiting and speaking. As a silver sponsor, Ximedes will display its capabilities, focusing on the recent development, implementation and share during the presentation, learnings of the GIVA project. GIVA stands for Generic ICT Vehicle Architecture, which at the moment is being deployed in and for the existing and new fleet of GVB (Amsterdam).

Background - GIVA Basisplatform & Services

Over the last 18 months, Ximedes has developed the GIVA Basisplatform for GVB, based on the European standards (prEN13149-7, ITxPT, VDV301). The GIVA software platform is an IP based platform, to connect IP based hardware and services in the Public Transport Vehicles (PTV) of GVB. The development is being driven by the new 15G trams that have been ordered by GVB at CAF Spain. The aim is also to roll-out the GIVA platform and Services to the existing GVB fleet, for which a phased migration approach has also been designed.

The GIVA Basisplatform consists of the different platform components with device- and system-management, system documentation, etc. (VDV301 specified). The different GIVA services, like AVMS - Travel information - MADT (HMI) – eTicketing - APC, are then connected ('found') using DNS-SD (Using the Search & Discover mechanism, a subscription based approach), based on ITxPT specifications. One of the first GIVA Services that has been deployed is the MADT (HMI for the drivers). On a generic screen, the driver will have access to different tools like timetables, trip details (actual versus planned), eMail, tool to sell/activate tickets, etc. The application is HTML based and runs on generic hardware.

Image: An MADT

The whole development is being driven by the business case to - as a PTO – regain more control on the applications (Hardware & Software) in all PTV's, speed up innovation and save costs on integrations and change requests. Key component of the business case is the fact that the GIVA architecture will run on generic hardware. In this way GVB will achieve cost savings and reduce complexity and has more control over changes and introducing innovations. Suppliers will have to make their applications (Hardware & Software) suitable for the GIVA platform, e.g. in accordance with the ITxPT specifications.

Adding GIVA services & functionality

Ximedes has now been contracted to develop additional GIVA Services, like interfaces for Passengercounting, OVCP (eTicketing), Vehicle Information etc., An important part of the contract is to also design tools to maintain and update existing services and functionalities and also to keep adding services and updates for the upcoming years. It is important to also have tooling in place to facilitate all this, especially from a monitoring and control perspective. The European market

The IP based approach has really been gaining traction in the world of Public Transport in the last year. With the different tenders referencing the new standard, exponentially growing interest through organisations like ITxPT and VDV301 (who are pushing the standard and really supporting organisations), this trend is here to stay.

Interested to find out more?

If you, as a PTO/PTA or a hardware supplier or a vehicle manufacturer, are interested in developing a similar platform, why not use the GIVA platform as a starting point, as an accelerator for your project? Similarly, if you as a supplier want to test if your solution is compliant, we can help!

Come and visit us at Stand Me1 at the Transport & Ticketing event in London (29/30 January).