The main vision supported in FAMS is that all actors of the DRT service chain, both the different transport operators and the different users groups, constitute a Virtual Community.

Through an appropriate  e-Business infrastructure, the member of the community will obtain several benefits including: knowledge sharing, improved access to information and services, improved travel service offer, enhanced management of the workflow between the customer and the transport service providers.

To this end, FAMS implements the concept of the Flexible Transport Agency, operating a Virtual/Extended Enterprise of transport operators. Despite the physical location of the operators, the different types of fleet, booking systems, services provided, etc., the Agency supports management of the entire service chain – from customer booking to service planning, monitoring and control – operating as unique entity, as “one operator with one fleet and one booking system”, thus providing an effective response to the mobility needs of the different user groups.

The FAMS Agency operates in a multi Service Providers and multi User Categories context and provides a reference infrastructure, both technological and organisational, enabling the planning, management and coordination of flexible transport services in the application area.

Overall, based on the internet and portal technologies, the FAMS system includes a number of components and services:

• a common FAMS Service Centre (TDC) sharing a number of services for planning, managing and monitoring the different type of flexible services.
  These include: shared route and service planning facilities, shared resource (vehicles) management, customer management repository, service information and data repository;
• the e-Business services between the Agency’s DRT management service components and the different actors involved in the DRT process chain, both operators and users, grouped in two different categories:
  • Business-to-Business (B2B) services, allowing interaction and teamwork among the different transport service providers co-operating through the Agency. Provided services will include: support to management of resources (vehicles) availability and sharing, request and delivery of trip orders and travel plans, notification of events (e.g. service modifications, expected events, etc.)
  • Business-to-Consumer (B2C) services, supporting access to information and services different associations, user groups, communities, etc. Provided services will include: remote service information, booking facilities for associations and user communities, inquiries and notifications, etc.
• a communication network among the TDC and the vehicles operating the services, based on cellular technology – GSM and GPRS.