Skip to main content

Real-time traffic updates to be displayed on London buses

The iconic London bus is now helping to improve traffic in the Capital as Transport for London (TfL) starts a trial of displaying live traffic information on the back of buses. A number of buses on route 344 are displaying real-time traffic information using digital information boards in what is said to be a world first. The technology is being trialled on buses between Clapham Junction and Liverpool Street to provide London's drivers with a new source of information to help avoid congestion and improve
August 16, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The iconic London bus is now helping to improve traffic in the Capital as 1466 Transport for London (TfL) starts a trial of displaying live traffic information on the back of buses. A number of buses on route 344 are displaying real-time traffic information using digital information boards in what is said to be a world first.

The technology is being trialled on buses between Clapham Junction and Liverpool Street to provide London's drivers with a new source of information to help avoid congestion and improve their journeys and the reliability and efficiency of the roads.

The buses have been fitted with electronic boards by Equitech IT Solutions, which use GPS technology to give accurate and up-to-date traffic information. The information is taken from the TfL variable message sign network, which is fed by TfL's 24-hour traffic control centre.

If successful, this could be expanded across London.

The technology will be used on a further bus route - route 415 between Tulse Hill and Liverpool Street - in the autumn.

The trial follows the successful trial of live traffic information displayed on taxi advertising boards by Brightmove Media, which proved the concept of real-time traffic information delivered in this form.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Introducing the Citymapper Smartbus
    May 9, 2017
    In coordination with Transport for London (TfL), which released open data for the project, Citymapper is testing a Smartbus service for London, which it says could reinvent the bus and improve mobility in congested cities. Starting on 9 and 10 May and running on an experimental route around Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridge, Smartbus uses a smaller vehicle, which Citymapper believes is necessary in crowded cities. It runs on a fixed route and uses bus stops. The bus has a smart display to inform passengers wh
  • Abu Dhabi installs VMS
    April 4, 2013
    Motorists in Abu Dhabi will now be able to get alerts about accidents and traffic jams from numerous variable message signs (VMS) currently being installed on the capital’s roads. At least 86 (VMS) will notify motorists of road blocks, construction and weather updates, giving them the opportunity to change their route if necessary. More than half will be equipped with traffic monitoring stations to record data from their areas and send the information to a central data centre. CCTV will also transmit road
  • Developing an integrated WIM/ANPR enforcement system
    July 31, 2012
    The weigh in motion market remains especially buoyant and technological development continues to reflect this. Although there are major differences in operating philosophies, particularly between developed and developing countries, both the numbers of countries using Weigh In Motion (WIM) technology and the numbers of systems that they deploy are on the increase.
  • Work starts on more UK smart motorways
    July 9, 2014
    Three new major motorway schemes on the M1 and M3 will cut congestion and give Britain's drivers smoother, quicker journeys, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced. Construction will now start on the M1 junctions 28-31 in Derbyshire, M1 junctions 32-35a in South Yorkshire and on the M3 at junction 2-4a in Surrey. The new schemes are central to the Government's long term economic plan and part of US$41 billion of investment in the road network by 2021, which will see spending tripled to U