20th HAFAS User Conference Gathers International Public Transport Industry

A record-breaking 470 participants joined this year's HAFAS User Conference that was held on April 4 and 5, 2017 at the Hannover Congress Centrum. Highlights included presentations from Google, Apple and HAFAS customers from all over the world.

The 20th annual HAFAS User Conference focused on the latest innovations and product developments of Hannover-based software specialist Hacon. Lectures and workshops covered the latest trends such as Bots, Big Data and Mobility as a Service (MaaS).

With its intermodal route planning and integrated booking options, HAFAS is once again leading the way and offers an advanced platform for MaaS. The HAFAS algorithm provides smart cross-mode routes and includes public transport connections as well as carsharing providers, bike rental stations, private cars and bicycles, park-and-ride and bike-and-ride options. Customers from Switzerland (SBB) and Denmark (Rejseplanen) presented their HAFAS applications that provide comprehensive door-to-door information and flexible forms of operation in both cities and rural areas. The new app for RTA (Roads and Transport Authority) in Dubai also attracted attention: With its fully integrated taxi and limousine booking, it also focuses on the MaaS approach.

Google introduced its joint success project with Hacon: A HAFAS Real-time Hub that compiles the real-time data for all of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) members and edits them via the HAFAS Match Server. This means that searching connections via Google Maps has become even more reliable.

Further highlights at the HAFAS User Conference included lectures from SNCF Transilien (France) on managing replacement services in Paris and Deutsche Bahn (Germany) on the integration of the DB Navigator skill for Amazon Echo.