Skip to main content

Beacon for transport innovation

Transport for New South Wales, Australia is looking to expand on its current trial of Bluetooth beacons at Chatswood Station and bus interchange in Sydney and calling for submissions around new ways to put Bluetooth technology to use to make catching public transport easier. The Beacon Challenge follows the current trial, which uses more than 70 beacons to help customers with vision impairment to navigate between trains, buses and places of interest in and adjacent to the interchange by sending location
August 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Transport for New South Wales, Australia is looking to expand on its current trial of Bluetooth beacons at Chatswood Station and bus interchange in Sydney and calling for submissions around new ways to put Bluetooth technology to use to make catching public transport easier.

The Beacon Challenge follows the current trial, which uses more than 70 beacons to help customers with vision impairment to navigate between trains, buses and places of interest in and adjacent to the interchange by sending location signals to a mobile phone which then gives the customer audio cues.

Other potential uses include providing customers with information about the next train services, local attractions or how to find their way from the train to the bus.

The best submissions will earn access to the trial beacon network from 10 October to 13 November. If their concept is successful in trial, they will be invited to a live Demo Day to showcase their concepts to a panel of Transport for NSW leaders.

Related Content

  • Hamburg’s on-demand alternative to commuting by car
    December 5, 2017
    As Hamburg is confirmed as the host for the 2021 ITS World Congress, David Crawford looks at the city’s moves towards enabling MaaS-type operations. Germany’s second-largest city, Hamburg, is pinning its civic reputation on having its promised all-electric, on-demand, shuttle bus ridesharing service up and running by 2018. Partners in the three-year project are regional metro and bus service provider Hamburger Hochbahn and Volkswagen Group’s Berlinbased mobility innovation subsidiary Moia, which was set
  • TfL challenges app designers to make the most of cycling data
    April 7, 2017
    Transport for London (TfL) has challenged app designers to improve their services to cyclists after expanding the data it makes available to them. TfL has added mapping information for eight Cycle Superhighways and one Quietway to their open data portal, allowing developers to make it even easier for Londoners to find and use the best cycle routes. New Superhighways and Quietways will be added as they open. The information allows developers to accurately map out the existing network within apps and on
  • Apps help passengers avoided overcrowded public transport
    May 30, 2013
    David Crawford reviews innovations in the comfort zone. Anyone who rides public transport knows that, perhaps second only to delays, overcrowding is a critical part of the passenger experience,” says Nir Erez, CEO of Moovit, the Israel-based social transportation app developer. The app is aimed at taking real-time user feedback on transit and making it available to a wider audience of travellers. Currently available on iPhone and Android, it plans to add Windows 8 and other platforms in the future. Moovit i
  • ITS World Congress 2012 highlights connectivity
    April 10, 2012
    Vienna is gearing up towards the ITS World Congress, taking place from the 22-26 October 2012. Martin Russ, managing director of AustriaTech, the local organiser, takes a look at how the event is shaping up so far This autumn, Vienna will see a flurry of visitors arriving for the 19th Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress. From 22- 26 October, prominent locations in the ‘best city in the world’ (Mercer Quality of Living Survey in 2009, 2010, and 2011) will hold the Congress, hosted by the BMVIT