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Herausforderung
Stable, high availability even during staff shortages
The Deutsche Bahn Group is pursuing its modernization initiative with determination – this also applies to regional transport. The group trusts in digitalization and artificial intelligence. At its subsidiary, DB Regio Bus, passengers book their rides with an on-call bus service by calling a call center in Nuremberg. The call center is available daily from 7:30 AM to 9:30 PM. However, staff shortages lead to wait times and limited accessibility of the ride request hotline. What to do? An automation solution was needed to increase availability and potentially extend it to 24/7. At the same time, callers should still be able to reach hotline staff personally to handle complex transport requests. The solution: an intelligent voicebot.
Solution
In dialog with an intelligent voicebot
In collaboration with VIER as a Vodafone technology partner, DB Regio Bus Bayern and DB Systel, the digital partner of Deutsche Bahn, developed a stable booking system through a voicebot and the new "Wohin-Du-willst-App." The voicebot is based on artificial intelligence and is programmed to conduct natural language dialogues with customers. In the background, Vodafone Interactive Voice Services ACD and Vodafone Interactive Voice Services AI & Bots, powered by VIER engage and VIER Cognitive Voice Gateway (CVG), are utilized.
Currently, the solution is being used in the district of Neumarkt – a true first in Germany. Callers dial a geographic service number with the area code of the Neumarkt district. The friendly voicebot then asks for the desired connection, departure time, and the number of passengers. The pilot phase lasted from January to June 2023, during which all dialogues of the voicebot were systematically evaluated and improvements were initiated. Subsequently, the service transitioned to regular operation.
Benefit
High customer acceptance
The voicebot currently handles about 700 calls per week – accounting for 80 percent of the total – and is thus a complete success. For simple trips from point A to point B, the voicebot manages the booking in the system. In approximately a quarter (25 percent) of the calls taken by the voicebot, the request is more complex, and the call is transferred to a staff member in the ride request center. The handover to the call center occurs in the following situations:
- Trips with transfers
- Trips for multiple passengers
- Transporting items (walker, suitcase, stroller, etc.)
- Multiple bookings, subscriptions, return trips
- Inputs not understood twice
- Explicit request for a staff member
In the future, DB Regio Bus Bayern will also deploy the voicebot for the demand-responsive transport services in the districts of Deggendorf and Passau. The artificial intelligence that enables the voicebot's speech understanding will continue to be developed during regular operation to process alternative stop names correctly.
The voicebot currently handles about 700 calls per week – accounting for 80 percent of the total – and is thus a complete success. For simple trips from point A to point B, the voicebot manages the booking in the system. In approximately a quarter (25 percent) of the calls taken by the voicebot, the request is more complex, and the call is transferred to a staff member in the ride request center. The handover to the call center occurs in the following situations:
- Trips with transfers
- Trips for multiple passengers
- Transporting items (walker, suitcase, stroller, etc.)
- Multiple bookings, subscriptions, return trips
- Inputs not understood twice
- Explicit request for a staff member
In the future, DB Regio Bus Bayern will also deploy the voicebot for the demand-responsive transport services in the districts of Deggendorf and Passau. The artificial intelligence that enables the voicebot's speech understanding will continue to be developed during regular operation to process alternative stop names correctly.
Customer voice
“With the voicebot, we reduce wait times on the hotline for customers who do not yet wish to book their on-call bus via the app. This allows us to maintain stable service hours. The Neumarkt demand-responsive transport could benefit from this with increased passenger numbers.”
Willibald Gailler, District Administrator of Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz
“With the voicebot, we reduce wait times on the hotline for customers who do not yet wish to book their on-call bus via the app. This allows us to maintain stable service hours. The Neumarkt demand-responsive transport could benefit from this with increased passenger numbers.”
Willibald Gailler, District Administrator of Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz
“Digitalization in customer communication is no longer a thing of the future. We are proud that we were able to bring our voicebot into regular use for this application. We thank the district of Neumarkt for embarking on this journey with us and supporting the development phase of the voicebot in the region. We are proud that we could successfully implement the project.”
Stefan Kühn, Chairman of the Regional Management of DB Regio Bus Bayern
“Digitalization in customer communication is no longer a thing of the future. We are proud that we were able to bring our voicebot into regular use for this application. We thank the district of Neumarkt for embarking on this journey with us and supporting the development phase of the voicebot in the region. We are proud that we could successfully implement the project.”
Stefan Kühn, Chairman of the Regional Management of DB Regio Bus Bayern
At a glance
DB Regio Bus Bayern uses solution by VIER
About DB Regio Bus Bayern
Eight DB bus companies (KOB, VU, OVF, RBO, DRB (including DB Regionalverkehr Bayern GmbH), RVO, RVA) cover more than 80 percent of Bavaria's area and safely transport around 100 million passengers annually with nearly 3,000 buses.
As an important and reliable partner for municipal and private transport companies, as well as for associations and transport communities, DB Regio Bus is present throughout Bavaria with branches, customer centers, dispatch points, and workshops. Additionally, individual customer needs can be met with cross-border routes, leisure lines, and the scheduling of demand-responsive services.
About DB Regio Bus Bayern
Eight DB bus companies (KOB, VU, OVF, RBO, DRB (including DB Regionalverkehr Bayern GmbH), RVO, RVA) cover more than 80 percent of Bavaria's area and safely transport around 100 million passengers annually with nearly 3,000 buses.
As an important and reliable partner for municipal and private transport companies, as well as for associations and transport communities, DB Regio Bus is present throughout Bavaria with branches, customer centers, dispatch points, and workshops. Additionally, individual customer needs can be met with cross-border routes, leisure lines, and the scheduling of demand-responsive services.