Space around railway stations is scarce. Drop-off and pick-up zones are shared by buses, trams, taxis, private vehicles, and passengers on foot, often at the same time, with no coordination between them. The result is congestion, wasted capacity, and a friction point that makes public transport less attractive for the people it should serve best.
SBB is testing a different approach. Together with Stellos, they are piloting Quick Drop-Off: a real-time management system that makes the same physical areas work for multiple modes of transport, without compromising public transport priority.
How it works
The principle is straightforward. Public transport always has right of way. When a bus or tram is scheduled to use a zone, that zone is reserved automatically, in advance, based on the live timetable. In the windows between scheduled services, the same space becomes available for private drop-off and pick-up, with a clear time limit displayed in real time.
Digital displays at each zone show drivers whether the area is currently available and how much time remains. Sensors on the ground monitor occupancy and dwell time. The system integrates directly with SBB's live schedule data, so zones are released and reclaimed without any manual intervention.
The result is a surface that adapts to actual demand rather than being statically allocated to a single use, making better use of limited space and reducing the queuing and congestion that currently characterise peak arrival and departure moments.
Current status
Technical tests are currently underway at Basel Wolf, outside live traffic operations. The goal is to validate the full integration between infrastructure, sensors, and timetable data before moving to a live pilot. The next step will be testing in real operating conditions, with evaluation of potential for additional stations to follow.
The full technology stack, covering real-time control, sensor integration, display management, and timetable interfacing, was designed and built by Stellos.
Why this matters
The challenge Quick Drop-Off addresses is not specific to SBB or to Switzerland. Any urban railway station with limited forecourt space faces the same trade-off between competing modes. A system that makes that space dynamically available, while maintaining the priority rules that keep public transport reliable, has clear potential beyond a single pilot.
We are proud to be working alongside the SBB first and last mile team on an initiative that takes a concrete step toward better-integrated, more efficient urban mobility.
A sincere thank you to everyone who has contributed to this pilot, and to the entire SBB first and last mile team who were on site last week.