In today’s fast-paced environment, where the on-demand expectation for real-time information is ever increasing, convenience and ease of access are crucial components in providing seamless and timely information to transit passengers on the go.
By Patrik Nilsson
The main barrier to increased public transit use is the lack of real-time information. Travelers need timely updates about route changes, delays, and which bus to take. Some buses do not provide next-stop notifications or online updates due to lack of Internet connectivity. For efficient fleet management and to avoid time-consuming manual updates, it is essential that buses are connected to the Internet for efficient system updates and passenger information.
The Luminator Suite provides comprehensive fleet management, content management, and real-time information capabilities for remote operations. By integrating with real-time feeds such as GTFS-RT through a central MQTT broker, the system ensures timely updates with minimal latency on schedule changes, arrival times, alerts, and connection details for bus infotainment displays.
With its content management tools, transit agencies can design layouts that adhere to accessibility guidelines and customize presentation sequences using events, cycles, and conditions to deliver relevant information at each stage of the passenger journey. Agencies can instantly distribute new images and videos, applying scheduling conditions based on time of day, calendar periods, weekdays, specific routes, destinations, or geofences.
By making the passenger information system a central component of the connected bus, the Luminator Suite delivers an enhanced experience with accurate, dynamic, and real-time information for travelers.
Luminator technology utilizes HTML5 and MQTT within an event-driven framework to deliver infotainment solutions that comply with ITxPT and VDV301 standards, supporting interoperability and plug-and-play integration with other vehicle systems. The web-based content is cross-platform compatible, and devices can be updated remotely for operating systems, software, configurations, and content. The Luminator Suite is hosted on Microsoft Azure, enabling cloud-based fleet and content management for original equipment manufacturers, bus operators, and transit authorities, and integrates with GTFS static and GTFS real-time data feeds.
The Luminator Suite provides remote fleet management, automated software updates, and health monitoring, offering tools for efficient data processing and communication via technologies such as MQTT and HTTPS. It is designed to accommodate different organizational sizes, with scalability, reliability, and security considerations.
Modules within the suite support content management, real-time data processing, and system customization through a microservices architecture. The documentation describes security frameworks, addresses data integrity, and details compliance with industry standards for secure operations.
Overall, the Luminator Suite is presented as an integrated solution for on-board passenger information and fleet management, aimed at improving operational efficiency and service quality for transportation providers.
A truly robust passenger information system benefits not only the passenger, but the transit agency and its drivers.
Passengers are provided with real-time trip updates on the bus, including live route info, next stops, transfer options, service alerts, and a mix of ads or visual content like images and videos.
Transit agencies benefit from managing both exterior destination signs and interior infotainment through one fleet and content management system. Remote health monitoring and updates boost fleet efficiency and reduce onsite visits, as software, content, and configuration are all managed remotely via Luminator Suite.
Luminator makes adopting the system truly seamless with an onboarding process that includes defining integration needs, setting up a tenant, registering users with permissions, adding devices, and configuring layouts. The cloud-based Luminator Suite streamlines tenant management, user registration, software setup, template creation, content handling, and remote updates.
After setup, Luminator provides multiple training resources, such as in-person sessions, video guides, online meetings, brief lessons, and user manuals. A demo kit with a bus simulator also offers hands-on experience for managing fleets and content.
Technology now benefits from regular software updates rather than infrequent, one-time changes, allowing for faster adaptation and issue resolution. With connected, cloud-based systems, updates and new features are easily deployed, supporting continuous improvement throughout a vehicle’s lifecycle. Costs are typically subscription-based, with monthly or yearly SaaS licensing. This model lowers initial expenses, maintains high quality through ongoing updates, and enables scalable solutions as more buses and features are added.
Services and data will increasingly shift to the backend, reducing onboard vehicle logic.
Looking ahead, the evolution of passenger information systems is poised to transform the public transit landscape even further. As technology advances, the distinction between onboard systems and cloud-based platforms will continue to blur. Real-time data exchange and seamless integration will become the norm, fostering a truly connected bus ecosystem. This shift enables not only more dynamic and accurate passenger information but also unlocks new opportunities for predictive maintenance and operational efficiency.
With data-driven bus fleets, agencies can remotely monitor vehicle health, diagnose issues before they escalate, and optimize routes in response to real-time conditions. As buses become increasingly integrated with cloud services, the flow of information between vehicles and central systems grows more robust, supporting advanced analytics and the development of artificial intelligence models. These models can extract actionable insights from a wealth of operational data, helping agencies make better decisions, increase fleet uptime, and enhance the passenger journey.
Crucially, the future of transit technology also relies on interoperability and open standards. Standardization initiatives such as ITxPT, uniting industry suppliers, transit operators, vehicle manufacturers, and agencies, are breaking down traditional silos. By defining everything from physical connectors and network architectures to data layers and transport protocols, these standards pave the way for plug-and-play integration. This not only simplifies deployments and upgrades but also encourages innovation and collaboration across the entire transit ecosystem.
Already, leading transit agencies around the world are embracing these new paradigms, moving from isolated, proprietary systems to open, data-driven platforms. The result is a public transport system that is more agile, responsive, and innovative—one that inspires greater passenger trust, increases ridership, and continually adapts to the evolving needs of modern cities.
Data-driven bus fleets will enable improved maintenance and passenger information. The gap between buses and cloud systems will narrow.
Patrik Nilsson is the VP of Luminator SW & Onboard Info Systems, Product & Technology. For more information, visit https://luminator.com/.