For 1½ years, FARA has used a flexible vehicle computer from JLT, tailored to be mounted in a bus. The partnership makes a closer collaboration between JLT and FARA possible with respect to new, customized products.
FARA has chosen JLT’s rugged, flexible vehicle computer JLT8404 for its ticketing systems for buses. The computer was tailored to FARA’s requirements that it be easily mounted in a bus. Thus, the JLT8404 computer represents the first concrete example within JLT’s new product concept Flexible Fixed*, which combines the strength of a rugged, fixed vehicle-mounted computer with the flexibility of a handheld computer. The computer can be easily mounted and removed, for example to be moved to another bus or if it needs to be updated.
“We have to have a rugged computer that is always functional in a bus environment that has vibrations, humidity, and temperatures down to minus 30 degrees Celsius. The JLT computer is easy to install, has a large, easily read display, and complies with our own and our customers’ stringent requirements for ruggedness,” says Ørjan Knutzen, Supply Chain Manager at FARA.
Following FARA’s use of the JLT products for 1½ years, the two companies are now entering a partner agreement.
“Through the partnership, we will have the opportunity to deepen the collaboration by developing specially customized accessories for FARA. Several customized products for FARA’s specific requirements are already being developed,” says Christian Funk, Product and Marketing Manager at JLT Mobile Computers.
Today, JLT computers are used in FARA’s complete ticketing system, which they offer to bus companies. The system includes online services for traffic, bus, and passenger information, and enables passengers to fill their smart cards with pre-loaded tickets. FARA’s customers are dependent upon reliable real time systems that can manage large amounts of transactions and information, without being affected by external factors.
FARA is a leading provider of IT solutions for the public transportation sector. The company delivers electronic ticketing and real time information systems. FARA has 80 employees in five locations and is represented via partners across Europe. The headquarters are located in Trondheim, Norway.
* In August, 2011, jFlex, the first official product within the Flexible Fixed-concept, was launched.
