With its rail and bus services, Aare Seeland mobil AG (asm) transports around 7.8 million passengers each year in the regions of Oberaargau, Solothurn and Seeland. The transport company is now modernising its vehicle-to-ground communication, laying the foundation for a future-proof, IP-based networking of its bus fleet.

The aim of the project is to securely, efficiently and scalably connect all IP-based communication systems in the bus – from ITCS and ticketing to other onboard systems. The on2810 vehicle router forms the central communication platform and acts as a mobile data centre that logically separates, prioritises and monitors the different data streams. Managed switches complement the solution and ensure clean segmentation of the onboard systems.

The new network solution enables, among other things:

• Secure separation of different applications (VLAN/firewalling)
• SD-WAN functionalities with active management of cellular connections
• Quality-of-service mechanisms for prioritising critical applications
• GNSS-based positioning and geofencing
• Automated provisioning and remote updates
• Central monitoring via the onway director

This creates the technical foundation for asm to efficiently integrate existing systems and flexibly incorporate future digital applications. “We are pleased to have found a partner in onway who supports us on our journey towards the digitalisation of the bus network and secure vehicle-to-ground communication,” says Rudolf Sommer, Project Manager Electronics, Data Management and Peripherals at asm.

asm is implementing an open, modular ITC base infrastructure. It allows the integration of new applications – for example in the areas of passenger information, video, passenger Wi-Fi or future data-driven services – without requiring hardware modifications. Thanks to centralised management of the mobile components, configuration changes, software updates and security patches can be rolled out automatically. This reduces the need for on-site interventions while increasing the operational reliability of the fleet.

The conversion of the vehicle network and the connection of the new onboard computers in asm buses will begin this year. From 2027 onwards, additional network participants will be integrated and the number of roof antennas will be reduced to the technically required minimum.

By modernising its network architecture, asm is making a targeted investment in operational reliability, transparency and digitalisation. onway is pleased to support the project as integrator and technology partner.