Two decades after the idea for a city cable car in Zagreb first emerged, it was finally realized with Axess in 2021. An ambitious project that connects the city of Zagreb directly with its local mountain and the World Cup Ski Resort Sljeme.
"Zagreb was a special project that required a lot of planning skills, know-how and also pioneering work on the part of Axess," says Eduard Wallner, one of the founders of Axess and responsible for the project. It was not only a matter of implementing the entrance to the gondola, but also of developing a well thought system with a central database that includes everything from online ticket purchase to managing parking facilities and ski tickets.
The situation
Zagreb wanted for three tasks one solution: relieve the city itself of traffic, integrate the local mountain Sljeme including the ski area and fully exploit the potential of city tourism. To ensure the best possible flexibility and functionality, a complete and integrated system should take care of everything. A central brain that has every piece of the puzzle in view and enables guests to use any ticket combination.
Choosing Axess
Because the project also meant new territory for Zagreb, both Axess' experience and modular technology were needed to implement this kind of holistic integration. Five POS cash register systems were installed directly on site, complemented by nine TICKET KIOSKs 600 and two PICK UP BOXes 600. With the integration of the WEBSHOP into the system, it opens up many possibilities for purchasing and combining tickets. In the future, guests will be able to conveniently book their gondola ticket, ski ticket and parking ticket at home. Want a spontaneous addition? Buy a ski ticket in the parking garage? The on-site system allows for an add-on booking at any time.
"This flexibility is what makes the city cable car so attractive for guests. And for the operators, management is as simple as can be. Everything can be tracked, analyzed and adjusted via a central system," Wallner continues.
Benefits for the guest
For guests this means: less queuing, less contact, more choices, a better overview and convenient spontaneity.
The use of the HANDHELDS also improves the service performance on site. And existing RFID cards - from the ski resort, for example - can be used to customize the service package. It's such a sophisticated system that the operating company ZET AG has already expressed interest in pushing ahead with automation in other public transportation projects. Wallner comments: "We would of course be delighted to pick up where we left off. Working with several organizational groups, from the operator to installers and logisticians to structural engineers was a great experience that we would be happy to do it again at any time."
