The Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn (RBS) is part of Switzerland’s national public transport network and the Bern S-Bahn. It transports over 25 million passengers annually on four railway lines and 18 bus lines, making it one of the busiest private railways in Switzerland. Closely linked to RBS is Busbetrieb Solothurn und Umgebung (BSU), which carries more than 7.3 million passengers per year. By 2025, the two transport companies plan to introduce a new bus control system from IVU. This will include equipping all buses with new onboard computers, including a gateway.

To control onboard displays, passenger counting, and the new mini-ticket machines (NeBiC) planned for 2026 via Ethernet (IBIS-IP), a reliable central data router is required inside the vehicle. An essential criterion is that the router has an integrated firewall. After a successful trial on two vehicles, RBS and BSU decided to implement the on2810 router from onway. This router provides LTE-advanced-pro technology and a Wi-Fi modem for a sustainable and future-proof vehicle-to-ground connection. The resulting network infrastructure connects all applications and provides sufficient bandwidth to meet future requirements.

The conversion of the entire bus fleet will begin in April 2025. Routers, switches, and internal and external antennas will be installed on 100 vehicles. "We were not only looking for a router for vehicle-to-ground communication but also a way to securely separate network streams using integrated firewalls," says Martin Wehrli, Application Manager at RBS. "With onway, we have also found a flexible network service provider that allows us to continuously modernize our vehicles."