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ScienceDirect
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Transportation Research Procedia 24C (2017) 33–40
2352-1465 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 3rd CSUM 2016.
10.1016/j.trpro.2017.05.064
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
3rd Conference on Sustainable Urban Mobility, 3rd CSUM 2016, 26 – 27 May 2016, Volos, Greece
10.1016/j.trpro.2017.05.064
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 3rd CSUM 2016.
2352-1465
Available online at www.sci encedirec t.com
ScienceDirect
Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2016) 000–000
www.elsevier.com/lo cate/ procedia
Dr.sc.ing. Irina Yatskiv a *, Dr.sc.ing. Mihails Savrasovsa, Dagnija Udreb, Roberta
Ruggeric
aTransport and Telecommunication Institute, Lomonosova 1, Riga, LV-1019, Latvia
bVidzem e Planning Region, Jana Poruka 8, Cesis, Cesu novads, LV-4101, Latvia
cMarche Region, Via Tiziano, 44 - 60125 Ancona, Italy
Abst ract
The goal of the following paper is to make a review of existing intelligent transport solutions in Latvia. The results of
the review were part of the RITS-NET project, implemented in frame of INTERREG IVC programme by consortium
of partners from 9 EU countries, including Latvia. The project aims at enhancing regional sustainable transport policies
via an increased knowledge and understanding of the full potential of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) solutions
and ways to deploy them. To reach the goal the state-of-the-art of intelligent transport solutions in Latvia was
completed, taking into account following subtopics: Emergency Management and Incident Services; ITS for Traffic
Management and Mobility; Parking and Automatic Payment; ITS for Public Transport Management; Fleet
Management and Freight. On each subtopic the careful review of existing solutions were completed and described.
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 3rd CSUM 2016.
Keyword s: intelligent transport soluti ons, state of the art, su stainable tra nsport network, Latvia
*Corresponding auth or Tel. +(371)-26492040. E-mail a ddress: Jackiva.I@tsi.lv, ivl@tsi.lv
1. Introduction
Modern information and communication technologies plays significant role in establishment of the sustainable
transport network, usually the definition of the sustainable transport network includes direct reference to the potential
users of the transport, as example “satisfying current transportation and mobility needs without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet these needs” (Black, 1996) or the definition from Centre for Sustainable
Transportation (Cst.uwinnipeg.ca, 2016) "sustainable transport system as one that:
allows the basic needs of individuals and societies to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and
ecosystem health, with equity within and between generations;
is affordable, operates efficiently, offers choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant economy
limits emissions and waste within the planet’s ability to absorb them, minimizes consumption of non-renewable
resources, reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of land and production of noise".
Review of intelligent transport solutions in Latvia
Available online at www.sci encedirec t.com
ScienceDirect
Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2016) 000–000
www.elsevier.com/lo cate/ procedia
Dr.sc.ing. Irina Yatskiv a *, Dr.sc.ing. Mihails Savrasovsa, Dagnija Udreb, Roberta
Ruggeric
aTransport and Telecommunication Institute, Lomonosova 1, Riga, LV-1019, Latvia
bVidzem e Planning Region, Jana Poruka 8, Cesis, Cesu novads, LV-4101, Latvia
cMarche Region, Via Tiziano, 44 - 60125 Ancona, Italy
Abst ract
The goal of the following paper is to make a review of existing intelligent transport solutions in Latvia. The results of
the review were part of the RITS-NET project, implemented in frame of INTERREG IVC programme by consortium
of partners from 9 EU countries, including Latvia. The project aims at enhancing regional sustainable transport policies
via an increased knowledge and understanding of the full potential of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) solutions
and ways to deploy them. To reach the goal the state-of-the-art of intelligent transport solutions in Latvia was
completed, taking into account following subtopics: Emergency Management and Incident Services; ITS for Traffic
Management and Mobility; Parking and Automatic Payment; ITS for Public Transport Management; Fleet
Management and Freight. On each subtopic the careful review of existing solutions were completed and described.
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 3rd CSUM 2016.
Keyword s: intelligent transport soluti ons, state of the art, su stainable tra nsport network, Latvia
*Corresponding auth or Tel. +(371)-26492040. E-mail a ddress: Jackiva.I@tsi.lv, ivl@tsi.lv
1. Introduction
Modern information and communication technologies plays significant role in establishment of the sustainable
transport network, usually the definition of the sustainable transport network includes direct reference to the potential
users of the transport, as example “satisfying current transportation and mobility needs without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet these needs” (Black, 1996) or the definition from Centre for Sustainable
Transportation (Cst.uwinnipeg.ca, 2016) "sustainable transport system as one that:
allows the basic needs of individuals and societies to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and
ecosystem health, with equity within and between generations;
is affordable, operates efficiently, offers choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant economy
limits emissions and waste within the planet’s ability to absorb them, minimizes consumption of non-renewable
resources, reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of land and production of noise".
Review of intelligent transport solutions in Latvia
34 Irina Yatskiv et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 24C (2017) 33–40
2
The definitions mentioned above point on wide range of factors, which must be taken into account developing
sustainable transport network, but in the center is a person, who is a user of the transport network. As one of the
effective tools the use of information communication ICT could be declared. By using ICT the transport network
become "intelligent" and more "friendly" to the end users. But implementation of ITS is an issue of different factors:
financial abilities of the city/region/country, readiness of the end users to accept new solutions etc.
The paper goal is to make the review of the intelligent transport solutions in Latvia. In order to make review more
detailed and structured the following declaration of ITS subareas was used: Emergency Management and Incident
Services; ITS for Traffic Management and Mobility; Parking and Automatic Payment; ITS for Public Transport
Management; Fleet Management and Freight. The definition of the areas was done based on experience from RITS-
NET project (RITS-NET, 2016) and POLITE project (Yatskiv et al., 2013) both completed in frame of INTERREG
IVC programme.
2. State-of-the-art of intelligent transport solutions in Latvia
Following section describes the review of the ITS solutions use in Latvia for different fields of activities:
Emergency Management and Incident Services; ITS for Traffic Management and Mobility; Parking and Automatic
Payment; ITS for Public Transport Management; Fleet Management and Freight.
2.1 Emergency Management and Incident Services
Emergency management and incident services are not well developed in Latvia from point of ITS. Two national
emergency service institutions are responsible for managing an emergency and incidents: State Fire and Rescue
Service and Emergency Medical Service. The structural units of both are located across all Latvia.
Latvia supports single emergency telephone line - 112. The single emergency telephone line is operating since
1997. From organization point of view: Central call station is located in Riga, additionally 4 regional call stations are
operating. Single emergency telephone service receives around 5000 calls per day.
On 2011 the Minister of Transport signed the Memorandum of Understanding for Realisation of Interoperable In-
Vehicle eCall (Eena.org, 2011). In 2016 one of the biggest mobile operators of Latvia Tele2 announced that is has
prepared its communication network for the introduction of the eCall system (Telecompaper.com, 2016).
According to the plans following important dates could be noted (Eu2015.lv, 2016):
From 31 March 2018, car manufacturers will have to equip all new models with an in-vehicle technology
that will communicate with the 112-based eCall interoperable service
The infrastructure for the eCall system should be in place by 1 October 2017. Its use will be accessible to all
consumers and free of charge.
2.2 ITS for Traffic Management and Mobility
Traffic and Travel Information is a key element of ITS deployment. As the part of EU Latvia shall follow and
harmonize national policy with EU directives. In 2010 EU has publish directive 2010/40/EU (EU, 2016), the directive
refers to the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for
interfaces with other modes of transport. ITS in Latvia is still under development and most important that there is no
one strategy how ITS system should be developed and implemented. But following services and ITS solutions in
frame of Traffic and Travel Information area related could be mentioned here as examples:
Traffic Information
Traffic information and control centres for national road network and some big urban municipalities (Riga,
Jelgava), as public services, were introduced in the last five years, having primary orientation on common needs of
road users. For instance, traffic information centre of national road network receives notifications on critical traffic
situations from different official bodies and road users, as well as has a direct input from the field devices. Traffic
Irina Yatskiv et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 24C (2017) 33–40 35
3
centres maintain all the accessible data, sharing traffic information to media, road users and among responsible
authorities in different ways. Currently existing system could be presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Functional architecture of ITS in Latvia (Jeļisejevs, 2010).
The traffic information is provided and managed by SJSC “Latvian State Roads”. The company manages up to 188
data collection points across Latvia. The on-line and historic data about traffic intensity are available for public on
webpage http://www.lvceli.lv/traffic/.
Traffic restrictions
Another service provided by SJSC “Latvian State Roads” is information about restriction areas in transport network
(with additional commenting information). The information about restrictions is available on webpage
http://lvceli.lv/lat/celu_lietotajiem/satiksmes_ierobezojumi/.
Road weather information system
In the same time SJSC “Latvian State Roads” manages RWIS (Road Weather Information System). The system is
presented by 53 stations (some of them are combined with traffic intensity measurement points) and central system
for data processing. RWIS software is in house-developed by road administration and data collection point technical
maintenance is outsourced. The collected data are available for “Latvian State Roads” staff (limited access) and for
public access.
The limited access data consist of traffic profiles, video surveillance and specific met eorological data (forecasts,
alarms, radar and satellite images, numerical models etc.) This information is needed for road maintenance.
The data provided for public use are published on international portal on road weather conditions (real-time data,
mostly descriptive for driving conditions) in Baltic countries. The data are available on www.balticroads.net. The
webpage is available in 6 languages (Estonian, English, Russian, Lithuanian, Latvian, and Finish).
The system provides number of different characteristics for data collection points, like air temperature, road
temperature, air humidity, dew point, wind speed and so on. In the same time pictures from cameras are available.
2
The definitions mentioned above point on wide range of factors, which must be taken into account developing
sustainable transport network, but in the center is a person, who is a user of the transport network. As one of the
effective tools the use of information communication ICT could be declared. By using ICT the transport network
become "intelligent" and more "friendly" to the end users. But implementation of ITS is an issue of different factors:
financial abilities of the city/region/country, readiness of the end users to accept new solutions etc.
The paper goal is to make the review of the intelligent transport solutions in Latvia. In order to make review more
detailed and structured the following declaration of ITS subareas was used: Emergency Management and Incident
Services; ITS for Traffic Management and Mobility; Parking and Automatic Payment; ITS for Public Transport
Management; Fleet Management and Freight. The definition of the areas was done based on experience from RITS-
NET project (RITS-NET, 2016) and POLITE project (Yatskiv et al., 2013) both completed in frame of INTERREG
IVC programme.
2. State-of-the-art of intelligent transport solutions in Latvia
Following section describes the review of the ITS solutions use in Latvia for different fields of activities:
Emergency Management and Incident Services; ITS for Traffic Management and Mobility; Parking and Automatic
Payment; ITS for Public Transport Management; Fleet Management and Freight.
2.1 Emergency Management and Incident Services
Emergency management and incident services are not well developed in Latvia from point of ITS. Two national
emergency service institutions are responsible for managing an emergency and incidents: State Fire and Rescue
Service and Emergency Medical Service. The structural units of both are located across all Latvia.
Latvia supports single emergency telephone line - 112. The single emergency telephone line is operating since
1997. From organization point of view: Central call station is located in Riga, additionally 4 regional call stations are
operating. Single emergency telephone service receives around 5000 calls per day.
On 2011 the Minister of Transport signed the Memorandum of Understanding for Realisation of Interoperable In-
Vehicle eCall (Eena.org, 2011). In 2016 one of the biggest mobile operators of Latvia Tele2 announced that is has
prepared its communication network for the introduction of the eCall system (Telecompaper.com, 2016).
According to the plans following important dates could be noted (Eu2015.lv, 2016):
From 31 March 2018, car manufacturers will have to equip all new models with an in-vehicle technology
that will communicate with the 112-based eCall interoperable service
The infrastructure for the eCall system should be in place by 1 October 2017. Its use will be accessible to all
consumers and free of charge.
2.2 ITS for Traffic Management and Mobility
Traffic and Travel Information is a key element of ITS deployment. As the part of EU Latvia shall follow and
harmonize national policy with EU directives. In 2010 EU has publish directive 2010/40/EU (EU, 2016), the directive
refers to the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for
interfaces with other modes of transport. ITS in Latvia is still under development and most important that there is no
one strategy how ITS system should be developed and implemented. But following services and ITS solutions in
frame of Traffic and Travel Information area related could be mentioned here as examples:
Traffic Information
Traffic information and control centres for national road network and some big urban municipalities (Riga,
Jelgava), as public services, were introduced in the last five years, having primary orientation on common needs of
road users. For instance, traffic information centre of national road network receives notifications on critical traffic
situations from different official bodies and road users, as well as has a direct input from the field devices. Traffic
36 Irina Yatskiv et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 24C (2017) 33–40
4
Travel Information
As was mentioned in first paragraph Latvia tries to create unified ITS. This also concerns travel information
systems. There two widely used services which could be used in all Latvian territory to manage public transport
journeys. These services are presented in form of webpages and are available for public usage.
1188 – Information service
This service provides opportunity to plan the trip by public transport (intercity buses, trains, ferries). In order to
use the service, the origin station and destination station must be selected. The search will return information about
all possible routes (in frame of one transport mode). The users have ability to see information about trip duration,
price, distance, number of stops and route by itself (visualized on the map).
Bezrindas.lv – service
The second service is a webpage mainly orientated on tickets selling. The functionality of the service and
disadvantages are the same as for the previous one. Additionally the user has opportunity to buy tickets on-line. As
the service is mainly orientated on selling, some information like route graphical representation and trip distance is
not provided by service.
Train and Bus in Latvia – Android software
The “Train and Bus in Latvia” application for Android provides opportunity for user to save the schedule for
selected routes and use it for informative purpose. The information provided by software is data from service 1188.lv
and m.1188.lv (mobile version of 1188.lv). The screenshots of application could be seen on figure below (Figure 2.)
Figure2. Screenshots of application.
Ldz.lv service
The Ldz.lv service is a portal of national Railway Roads. The webpage has a possibility to plan the journey by
searching routes. The information which should be provided is: departure station, destination station, departure date
and time. The service provides opportunity also to find the routes between not directly connected stations.
Irina Yatskiv et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 24C (2017) 33–40 37
5
2.3 Parking and Automatic Payment
The Parking and Automatic Payment systems are not well developed in Latvia from point of view of using ITS.
Only in capital of Latvia such services are introduced. There are two main parking operators "EUROPARK" Ltd. and
"Rigas Saiksme" Ltd., who manages parking services There are number of examples of using ITS by both entities.
"Rigas Satiksme" Ltd. manage on-street parking places, meanwhile "EUROPARK" Ltd. has a number of dedicated
places for the par king. As example of ITS use following could be mentioned:
on-line electronic boards on entrance, who informs visitors about number of free parking places in current
parking;
parking place reservation via the operator’s webpage.
Both "Rigas Satiksme" Ltd. and "EUROPARK" Ltd. support no cash payments provided by MOBILLY Ltd. using
Smartphone application and SMS service. In the same time in Riga it is possible to use RigaParking software
developed by the "AmberPhone" Ltd. Also it is possible to use a smart card service provided by "NetCards" Ltd. for
Riga parking.
There is a possibility to use a Park and Ride service in Riga. The Park and Ride was opened in December of 2012
and it is Free for a driver if he/she validates not less than two times an e-ticket for public transport.
2.4 ITS for Public Transport Management
ITS solution for public transport are rather fragmented in Latvia and mainly concentrated in Riga and Jelgava. The
most developed solutions are related with use of the e-ticketing service in these cities. The introduction of the e-
ticketing systems allows to follow the demand of passengers and use the data for more affective public transport routes
planning in cities.
e-ticketing in Riga and Jelgava
E-ticketing system in Riga for public transport was implemented by the company “Rigas Karte” Ltd. The period
of implementation lasted from January 2008 till April 2009. The system was presented and started to operate in April
2009. In frame of project the number of solutions were adopt and customization for own needs was performed. The
reasons of implementation are following: no transport usage statistics available or it is not exact; lot of cash handling;
fraud and theft. The implemented solution was based on Atlas ticketing solution provided by ACS Solution (XEROX
Corporation). The implementation of the system was done with the goal to increase efficiency, quality, transparency
and popularity of the public transport system by applying modern ICT technologies. Inhabitants are directly impacted
by the solution as follows:
No cash – no need to have and look for coins in full public transport. Everything is needed just to apply card to
validator, even not taking card out from the bag or wallet.
Ability to control costs on public transport – the use of personalized card allows to control costs on public transport.
Different types of e-ticket, which meets user needs – there are a number of different e-tickets, this allows to create
a very flexible options for passengers.
Additional services included in e-ticket – as was mentioned above Atlas e-ticketing supports application of
additional services inside e-ticket (at example schoolchildren identity card etc.).
Intermodality – different types of public transport could be used with one e-ticket.
In the same time Jelgava city has implemented their own solution for e-ticketing, which is based on integration e-
ticket for public transport in banks cards.
4
Travel Information
As was mentioned in first paragraph Latvia tries to create unified ITS. This also concerns travel information
systems. There two widely used services which could be used in all Latvian territory to manage public transport
journeys. These services are presented in form of webpages and are available for public usage.
1188 – Information service
This service provides opportunity to plan the trip by public transport (intercity buses, trains, ferries). In order to
use the service, the origin station and destination station must be selected. The search will return information about
all possible routes (in frame of one transport mode). The users have ability to see information about trip duration,
price, distance, number of stops and route by itself (visualized on the map).
Bezrindas.lv – service
The second service is a webpage mainly orientated on tickets selling. The functionality of the service and
disadvantages are the same as for the previous one. Additionally the user has opportunity to buy tickets on-line. As
the service is mainly orientated on selling, some information like route graphical representation and trip distance is
not provided by service.
Train and Bus in Latvia – Android software
The “Train and Bus in Latvia” application for Android provides opportunity for user to save the schedule for
selected routes and use it for informative purpose. The information provided by software is data from service 1188.lv
and m.1188.lv (mobile version of 1188.lv). The screenshots of application could be seen on figure below (Figure 2.)
Figure2. Screenshots of application.
Ldz.lv service
The Ldz.lv service is a portal of national Railway Roads. The webpage has a possibility to plan the journey by
searching routes. The information which should be provided is: departure station, destination station, departure date
and time. The service provides opportunity also to find the routes between not directly connected stations.
38 Irina Yatskiv et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 24C (2017) 33–40
6
VBTS – Unified ticket sales system
VBTS – Unified ticket sales system, originally “Vienotā biļešu tirdzniecības sistēma" (VBTS) has been designed
and is maintained in accordance with the 2 October 2007 the Cabinet of Ministers Nr.676 “Single public transport
ticketing system (VBTS), booking and tracking system installation and maintenance procedures". The system goal is
to provide online ticket purchase possibility in public transport vehicles and tickets booking functionality at any ticket
office (ticket outlet other than a public vehicle) to any existing route network route, with some limitations for purchase
of railroad tickets. It was planned that VBTS will service different public transport operators and different ticketing
systems (Yatskiv et.al, 2015). The following list clarifies the planned scope of integration sources:
Rail road – VIPUS
Bus terminal stations – Baltic Lines
Internet sales – Bezrindas.lv
Regional, Intercity and Urban buses – onboard equipment by Nordeka Serviss.
The most important functions of VBTS defined (planned) by the Cabinet of Ministers are:
Maintenance of registers - to collect and compile information on routes, fares (rates), public transport traffic etc.
on intercity and regional routes. Currently, the registry information is up to date - VBTS is supplemented by a
regional planning routes and routes data.
Maintenance of ticket operations transactions – to receive online, process and update information about ticket sales,
reservation and cancellation in ticket offices and public transport, as well as provide up to date information about
the actual availability the tickets for purchase and reservation (warehousing).
Telematics data processing – using online mode, to receive and processes information about installed peripherals
on transport vehicles (global positioning, telematics equipment and cash registers) obtain information of bus current
location and particular ticket sales coordinates.
Currently, data transmission is ensured for all intercity buses and semi - local regional bus services. Regional coaches
are only partially equipped with the necessary telematics devices. The limiting factors to full telematics data
processing are obsolete peripherals, on board point of sales (technical characteristics, hardware and software without
the manufacturer's support, lack of communication module). Till nowadays, ticket operations transaction records are
incomplete - no information on ticket sales received from the bus stations (using “Baltic Lines” system) and the
Internet (www.bezrindas.lv). There are currently no warehousing functionality - the actual availability of the tickets
for purchase and reservation. The bottleneck of the system is necessity of always online communication. Which by its
nature is very sophisticated task, it also significantly complicates system infrastructure and support.
Bus terminals sales, accounting and management support system (Baltic Lines)
"Baltic Lines" is a bus ticket sales, route tracking and bus-specific process management support tool. That system
was developed in 2003 for Riga International Bus Station needs. The developer company is "S Fabrica" Ltd.
Since 2006, the system began to be used in other bus station terminals. Currently, the "Baltic Lines" perform in 33
out of 35 Latvian terminals. "Baltic Lines" system provides possibility for customers to purchase tickets for the bus
route services, where the starting point is a Latvian bus terminal station. As was analyzed previously, this option is
about 40% of intercity and regional routes. "Baltic Lines" system interoperates with internet marketing site
www.bezrindas.lv which extends tickets purchase options to internet.
Unified income and passengers accounting system (VIPUS)
VIPUS is ticketing system used in rail road network, operated by “Pasažieru Vilciens” JSC. The system was
developed in 2006, based on the Baltic Lines system, developer - company "S Fabrica", which provides VIPUS and
Irina Yatskiv et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 24C (2017) 33–40 39
7
Baltic Lines compatibility. The system allows a purchase in any railway ticket office, for any rail route, between any
two stations.
System provides possibility for purchasing of train tickets at railway stations and stop points, system also store
conductors ticket sales made with handheld terminals and hand-prescribed tickets. The system base is the central data
server, which performs data parameterization, configuration and data storage functions. The workstations
communicate with the server at least once a day, for the mutual exchange of information. In addition, the system
allows importing of data files and data from the non-system sales (with the hand tickets sold and terminal controllers
listed in the ticket).
One of the objectives during implementation of the “VIPUS” was integration with "Baltic Lines" system to the
extent that both systems could be selling all kinds of, but it was not being realized because of various sales strategies
and changing legislative rules.
The system design does not include interaction with on-board equipment, so practically the available information
regarding ticket sales, is those which were sold in bus terminal station, any purchase made in different location, is
outside of the system scope. Currently, no information about sold tickets using the "Baltic Lines" system is transferred
to VBTS, which contradict with public transport development plans.
Taking into account the hardware exploitation period, now it's time for the gradual renovation and changeover of
the equipment, however, is a very complex problem to find alternative equipment matching system needs for future
exploitation. These problems are caused by factors associated with the individual design program, in particular the
adaptation of the system equipment, and system developer’s inexperience with similar programs development.
Notwithstanding the above, VIPUS has in recent year’s significantly improved passenger revenue accounting and
quality, as well as provided a significant cost savings compared to the previous ticketing system.
Demand modelling
Another example of ICT application in the area of public transport is related with demand modelling of the
passengers. This example refers to the simulation model implemented in Vidzeme Region of the Latvia. System for
public transport modelling in Vidzeme region was developed in frame of the project orientated on increasing of quality
of regional public transportation service. The goal of the system is to offer an interactive, GIS-based, multimodal
simulation tool for detailed, client-based analysis of public transit quality and planning of public transit infrastructure.
The solution was implemented by Riga Technical University and Ltd “imink”.
The developed system helps to make decision on strategic and tactical levels about changes in public transport
system in Vidzeme region. This allows to estimate different development scenarios of public transport system taking
into account needs of Vidzeme region population, transport operators, municipalities and Vidzeme planning region.
By using developed system the integrated analysis could be done:
Analysis of route network traffic intensity.
Analysis of public transport stops availability.
Analysis of settlement accessibility.
Analysis of output results (number of transferred passengers, total costs, mileage etc.) in general.
Analysis of output results for specific routes.
The developed solution considered as a useful tool for decision-makers in their efforts to evaluate alternative public
transit scenarios and planning options.
2.5 Fleet Management and Freight
Fleet management and freight is a field there are primary the private companies are operating, as providers of the
services for transport companies. There are a number of companies, who provides fleet management and freight
services, the biggest are: EcoTelematics Ltd. and MapOn Ltd. Both companies provide the software and the hardware
part of the fleet management and freight system.
6
VBTS – Unified ticket sales system
VBTS – Unified ticket sales system, originally “Vienotā biļešu tirdzniecības sistēma" (VBTS) has been designed
and is maintained in accordance with the 2 October 2007 the Cabinet of Ministers Nr.676 “Single public transport
ticketing system (VBTS), booking and tracking system installation and maintenance procedures". The system goal is
to provide online ticket purchase possibility in public transport vehicles and tickets booking functionality at any ticket
office (ticket outlet other than a public vehicle) to any existing route network route, with some limitations for purchase
of railroad tickets. It was planned that VBTS will service different public transport operators and different ticketing
systems (Yatskiv et.al, 2015). The following list clarifies the planned scope of integration sources:
Rail road – VIPUS
Bus terminal stations – Baltic Lines
Internet sales – Bezrindas.lv
Regional, Intercity and Urban buses – onboard equipment by Nordeka Serviss.
The most important functions of VBTS defined (planned) by the Cabinet of Ministers are:
Maintenance of registers - to collect and compile information on routes, fares (rates), public transport traffic etc.
on intercity and regional routes. Currently, the registry information is up to date - VBTS is supplemented by a
regional planning routes and routes data.
Maintenance of ticket operations transactions – to receive online, process and update information about ticket sales,
reservation and cancellation in ticket offices and public transport, as well as provide up to date information about
the actual availability the tickets for purchase and reservation (warehousing).
Telematics data processing – using online mode, to receive and processes information about installed peripherals
on transport vehicles (global positioning, telematics equipment and cash registers) obtain information of bus current
location and particular ticket sales coordinates.
Currently, data transmission is ensured for all intercity buses and semi - local regional bus services. Regional coaches
are only partially equipped with the necessary telematics devices. The limiting factors to full telematics data
processing are obsolete peripherals, on board point of sales (technical characteristics, hardware and software without
the manufacturer's support, lack of communication module). Till nowadays, ticket operations transaction records are
incomplete - no information on ticket sales received from the bus stations (using “Baltic Lines” system) and the
Internet (www.bezrindas.lv). There are currently no warehousing functionality - the actual availability of the tickets
for purchase and reservation. The bottleneck of the system is necessity of always online communication. Which by its
nature is very sophisticated task, it also significantly complicates system infrastructure and support.
Bus terminals sales, accounting and management support system (Baltic Lines)
"Baltic Lines" is a bus ticket sales, route tracking and bus-specific process management support tool. That system
was developed in 2003 for Riga International Bus Station needs. The developer company is "S Fabrica" Ltd.
Since 2006, the system began to be used in other bus station terminals. Currently, the "Baltic Lines" perform in 33
out of 35 Latvian terminals. "Baltic Lines" system provides possibility for customers to purchase tickets for the bus
route services, where the starting point is a Latvian bus terminal station. As was analyzed previously, this option is
about 40% of intercity and regional routes. "Baltic Lines" system interoperates with internet marketing site
www.bezrindas.lv which extends tickets purchase options to internet.
Unified income and passengers accounting system (VIPUS)
VIPUS is ticketing system used in rail road network, operated by “Pasažieru Vilciens” JSC. The system was
developed in 2006, based on the Baltic Lines system, developer - company "S Fabrica", which provides VIPUS and
40 Irina Yatskiv et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 24C (2017) 33–40
8
3. Conclusions
The state of intelligent transport solutions in Latvia have been analysed in the paper, taking into account different
subareas: Emergency Management and Incident Services; ITS for Traffic Management and Mobility; Parking and
Automatic Payment; ITS for Public Transport Management; Fleet Management and Freight. Taking into account the
technical and technological evolution of the new ICT tools in the field of ITS and current state of the ITS development
in Latvia could be concluded that ITSs in Latvia remains still fragmented in what they offer in the geographical scope
and the coverage of the different subtopics. The most developed subareas are: ITS for Public Transport Management
and ITS for Traffic Management and Mobility compare to the rest. But still, even in these subareas there are a number
of challenges related with modes of transport; rarely provide cross-border travel information. The next steps, for
instance, in ITS for public transport are to be more integrated with the help of the same technological platforms: ticket
validation systems, based on rechargeable and contactless e-cards, and real-time information system for all modes of
transport. It is still not possible to buy a single ticket for a multimodal journey in Latvia and across national boundaries
in EU. For many destinations, it is not possible to book an integrated ticket that includes both the long-distance part
and first and/or last part of the journey. Integrated ticketing is a key part of an user -friendly multimodal transport
system and a prerequisite for a seamless journey. The ability to travel by multiple modes of transport, while only
needing to purchase one ticket for the whole journey, is a valuable incentive to encourage travellers to combine several
modes of transport.
One of the important goals now is to implement the concept “Open Data” and automated fare collection systems.
Data collected through the automated fare collection systems have applications on different levels: from network
planning to network monitoring and the detection of irregularities. This data is valuable to observe the travellers’
behaviour, to estimate OD matrices and to infer the journey time.
Use of intelligent transport solutions in Latvia should improve efficiency, safety, quality and reliability of the
transport service, reduce maintenance costs and offer possibilities of increasing revenues.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the ALLIANCE Project (Grant agreement no.: 692426) funded under
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
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