Bus revolution to put power in passengers' hands

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The Department for Transport

Rural bus services could be overhauled thanks to a new digital system pioneered by the government.

Buses Minister Nusrat Ghani has today (26 March 2019) announced £4 million for a platform which will provide location information about services – giving greater certainty to passengers about when their bus will arrive.

The platform enables app developers to use information from GPS trackers, which are already fitted to 97% of buses. This will provide a service which is available in some major cities. It will give people in other areas across the country, including rural and remote areas, the ability to plan journeys more easily.

Buses Minister Nusrat Ghani said:

"People expect to turn up to a bus stop knowing when their next service will arrive, particularly in rural areas.

"We’re investing in systems to make it easier for people to find out where their bus is, how much it will cost and how long it will take.

"This will save the time people waste waiting, give more people certainty over services and help increase passenger numbers."

Knowing what buses are available, when they will turn up (not just the timetable) and how much your journey will cost seems like a rather good idea 



Edit to add picture

[LiskeardRich]

There’s a third party website with tracking for many of the big groups with more operators being tracked each week here:

https://bustimes.org/vehicles

[grahame]

From The Department for Transport

Rural bus services could be overhauled thanks to a new digital system pioneered by the government.

56 page report back up the story is at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789109/bus-open-data-consultation-response.pdf

Bus Services Act 2017: Bus Open Data
Consultation Response