Many public transport subscriptions are valid with multiple carriers. The revenues from these subscriptions must then be distributed fairly. This requires a joint distribution method, based on clear agreements and supported principles.

Hypercube acts as an independent party in this process. We know the available data sources and know how to develop a robust and transparent distribution system based on them. Even when there is limited data available, we find a suitable solution with smart methods and tools.

We guide carriers step by step through this process. It is precisely these complex puzzles – in which technology, data and collaboration come together – that we like to solve.

We are currently supporting carriers in the migration of subscriptions from public transport chip card (OV-chipkaart) to OVpay. This requires both an analysis of new data sources and the development of (new) algorithms to distribute the proceeds properly. In addition, we provide explanatory analyses that help with the interpretation of use and proceeds of these new subscriptions.

We make the results of our analyses – including distribution keys and underlying insights – available via an information portal, set up in consultation with the client.

Carriers and/or governments regularly want to make larger or smaller changes to the products and rates in their concession(s), for example to achieve passenger growth or to better spread passengers over the day. In order to predict the consequences of an adjusted tariff policy, Hypercube has developed a scenario tool. This tool makes effects visible for every possible combination of new travel products and prices. This concerns volume changes, migration patterns, consequences for the revenues from sales to and use by passengers, and the price tag for the passengers.

The scenario tool uses usage data from the public transport chip card (OV-chipkaart) and/or the payment card, supplemented with information about the sale of non-chipped products and the revenues from subscriptions. This scenario tool uses the principle of backcasting. By this we mean that the travel pattern of a traveler from the past is projected onto the new proposed tariff policy. Within the tool, the chances are determined with which each traveler will travel with a certain product under that new tariff policy, and the extent to which. Parameters such as price elasticity, product preferences and willingness to change also play a role in this.

In a scenario study, cooperation with governments, carriers and traveler organizations is of great importance and an integral part of the process that we ideally want to go through. We prefer to start that process with an up-to-date picture of the market, a market scan. The basis is formed by a recent year of user transactions. How often do they travel, when, with which products, and what is their spending pattern? In consultation, we develop possible improvements in the offer to the traveler, in line with the current objectives and using the current possibilities. These improvements are incorporated in scenarios that we analyze with the forecast model.

Hypercube has built up an extensive network and developed the necessary expertise in public transport in the Netherlands over the past 25 years. By combining this with our strong analytical skills and the ability to manage processes with various stakeholders, we can tackle a wide range of advisory issues within the mobility domain. For example, we are asked by governments and carriers to provide advice on the revenue model of concessions or on the design of financial agreements between various parties.

Almost all of our advice is based on facts (read: data-driven). Monitoring and information provision are an important part of our services. For example, we monitor whether a new tariff policy yields what was intended. We also explicitly help governments and carriers with the design and creation of the monitor. Certainly, if the outcome of a monitor can have financial consequences, for example compensation or corrections, good agreements are needed in advance. What do you want to include in the measurement and what not, for which autonomous developments must be corrected and how do you ensure that all parties retain the right motives?

But in other cases too, we can help clients translate their wishes and needs into measurable parameters that can be derived from data.

We are also able to perform the monitor. In doing so, we are familiar with dealing with, for example, public transport chip card (OV-chipkaart) transactions, payment card transactions, MIPOV reports and publicly available data such as timetable information.