Development of a mobile application for passenger information at the Algeciras Port

31 March, 2023

Summary:

The project has been based on the development of a mobile application, proper of the Algeciras Bay Port Authority (APBA), focused on complementing its communication channels and providing, in real time, relevant information of the Port of Algeciras, which will be useful, not only for the passengers, as main user of it, but also for the drivers of heavy traffic and even for the workers of the organization itself, with the aim of helping them to improve the planning of their journeys and to optimize and speed up their passage through the port facilities.

With this tool, developed in collaboration with the company Babel and with the support of Sopra-Steria through the APBA’s Advanced Digital Services Center, the Port Authority aims to improve the quality of the service offered and optimize the passage of passengers and cargo through the port area, through the implementation of a multi-platform system that is intuitive and user-friendly and provides, in real time, both general information about the port and its surroundings, as well as specific information related to port operations.

To this end, a flexible system has been implemented that allows the integration and exchange of information with other existing APBA data sources, such as the Passenger Information System of the Maritime Terminal, which has digital panels in the maritime stations of Algeciras and Tarifa, offering the user data of interest and notifications in a more agile, fast and mobile way.

The application is based on a client-server architecture composed of a server part and a client part in which the server is responsible for storing all the information necessary for the application. A content management portal developed in Angular Material, SpringBoot and MySQL is used as server, which will be in charge of storing all the dynamic contents of the application. The mobile application communicates with the server, which has been deployed using Docker, through a secure API Rest in JSON format.

For the design of the application, the specifications provided by W3C – Mobile Web Best Practices related to usability and accessibility have been followed. In addition, security and legal requirements regarding privacy and personal data protection have been taken into account.

In subsequent development phases, the integration of data from other sources is foreseen, which will expand the useful information for port users, such as the APBA’s Autonomous Measurement, Forecasting and Alert System (SAMPA) to provide ocean-meteorological variables or its Port Community System (Teleport), which will provide operational information of interest.

The project’s innovation:

• Use of the agile Design Sprint methodology in the initial phases of analysis and design in order to obtain, in one week, a clickable prototype of the application, developed in a digital prototyping tool, and a functional requirements document so that the development team can face the following phases of the project.
• To have a flexible system capable of integrating and exchanging information in real time with other existing APBA data sources in order to provide the user with updated information related to port operations.
• Capable of capturing data to analyze usage patterns and collect anonymized information from users in order to adapt and improve both the experience of the application itself, as well as the operational processes.

The project’s product:

• Previous consultancy performed by a mobility specialist in order to select the most appropriate approach (native vs. hybrid) and technology stack for APBA according to its road map of mobile applications planned in the short and medium term.
• Two native mobile applications for the two most used platforms for mobile devices, iOS and Android.
• Administration portal so that an administrator user can generate and edit the main contents that the apps will show, thus avoiding that any change involves an update of the apps in the different markets.

Usability/application:

• The final application, mainly focused on passengers using the ferry lines operating from the Ports of Algeciras and Tarifa to Tangier, Tangier-Med and Ceuta, will provide, in real time, relevant information of the Port of Algeciras, with the aim of helping users to improve the planning of their journeys and optimize and streamline their passage through the port facilities.