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Highlights
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
- +5% patronage across optimised routes, despite the prevailing seasonal trends
- +17% punctuality
- -18% late running
- -0.9 mins excess wait time (EWT)
PRODUCTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS
- Capacity for the network team to deliver 3x as many schedule changes for each service revision
- -6 hours per route in time taken to generate a timetable
Overview
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is the biggest bus operator in the West Midlands, one of the largest in the UK, and part of Mobico Group, a leading international shared mobility provider with operations in the UK, North America, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
NXWM began using CitySwift’s Performance Optimisation Platform to support one of the company’s key objectives: to deliver the most reliable and efficient transport solutions on the market.
The cutting-edge technology provides runtime analysis and predictions, enabling NXWM to make use of quality data and insights that maximise team productivity while continually making improvements to service reliability and performance to deliver a better bus user experience.
Many technology companies offer solutions for bus networks without understanding the real-world problems, and others provide logical but impractical solutions. CitySwift truly understands the challenges we face in the bus industry. The platform doesn't just provide answers; it helps us find better answers, quicker. This enables our skilled schedulers and network planners to respond faster and deliver a more reliable bus service for customers, while using our resources much more efficiently.
- Andy Foster, Director of Bus Planning at National Express
Building a reputation for the most reliable passenger experience in a region with ever-changing operating conditions
Since its inception in 2019, NXWM and CitySwift’s aim has been to develop best-in-class transport solutions that analyse passenger and service data, drive optimum performance and reliability, and support a more efficient use of resources.
The West Midlands is dynamic, with ever-changing operating conditions and. changes to passenger travel patterns, alongside other factors such as traffic congestion and roadworks. It means NXWM must adapt and remain agile, while making continuous service adjustments.
CitySwift’s runtime recommendations have consistently delivered strong network improvements for NXWM over the last four years, including a significant 17% increase in punctuality for routes optimised in January 2024. It has also led to an improved passenger experience, with a 5% increase in patronage, an 18% reduction in late running, and a 1% reduction in overall resources required.
Supercharging an expert team of Network Planners
NXWM’s network planning team now delivers many more improvements on each agreed service change date, while being better tuned-in to variations in local operating conditions. Using CitySwift, the team has cut timetable analysis and creation time by 6 hours per route, allowing it to be more dynamic in response to evolving travel patterns. The technology developed during the partnership to date has supported the delivery of Friday-only schedules, optimising resources, saving vehicle hours, and providing a more reliable service that better matches passenger travel patterns.
An innovation partnership that benefits bus networks across the UK
The partnership between NXWM and CitySwift goes far beyond that of client and tech supplier. From the start, a strategic partnership was formed to drive innovation and refine solutions that optimise bus network performance, delivering meaningful results for bus users, operators, and authorities.
Over 20 new features have been developed through the partnership to date, covering everything from runtime analysis, scenario planning and forecasting, to business intelligence.
The latest of these developments is Spotlight - the industry’s first intelligent recommendation engine. Spotlight automatically scans the entire network, runs thousands of optimisation permutations, and recommends ROI improvements. It supercharges stakeholder decision making by providing insights on performance and resource metrics, like punctuality, cost, and number of vehicles.
NXWM is the first operator to use this tool, with the West Midlands being the first region to benefit from this solution on-the-road. It supports faster, more passenger-centric decisions that balance available resources and delivers tangible benefits for the passengers, the operator, and the region.
Harnessing the power of data-driven collaboration between Operator and Authority
CitySwift’s insights provide all stakeholders with a single source of independent and reliable data that both NXWM and Transport for West Midlands can trust. Putting quality data at the core of network performance discussions keeps the teams focused on the areas that can be optimised, enhancing the passenger experience in tandem with delivering an efficient, cost-effective bus network. Collaborating through data-driven decision making enables NXWM to fulfil its responsibilities as part of the West Midlands Bus Alliance, making bus journeys quicker, easier and more attractive for passengers.
National Express West Midlands' collaboration with CitySwift exemplifies how innovative technology and data-driven insights can transform public transport, enhancing service reliability and efficiency. This partnership not only supports our commitment to deliver first-class bus services for customers that rely on us, it also drives significant operational efficiencies, supporting growth and continuous improvement across our entire West Midlands bus network.
- Ed Rickard, Network Director at National Express
Extending Performance Optimisation across the full network
NXWM has been using CitySwift’s Performance Optimisation across its high frequency routes for the last four years. Due to the success of the partnership, NXWM has extended CitySwift’s product suite across its full fleet of 1,400 buses, now incorporating all routes.
NXWM’s trailblazing use of CitySwift will continue to drive service performance optimisations, enabling the operator to deliver on its strategy to provide a more efficient and reliable bus network for passengers across the West Midlands.
In addition, all CitySwift’s current and future clients from major cities across the UK and Ireland, including Belfast, London, and Manchester, have benefitted and will continue to benefit from NXWM’s and CitySwift’s product innovations to deliver better bus services across the UK and beyond.
