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.

Related Content

  • February 18, 2014
    Caltrans develops remote remedy for ailing VMS
    A remote diagnostic system for variable message signs keeps Caltrans staff safer and makes them more efficient. District 12 of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) maintains roads in Orange County including 292 route miles of freeway lanes and 240 directional miles of full-time high occupancy vehicle or carpool lanes. All of these lanes are controlled from the district’s transportation management centre (TMC) using a network of 58 variable message signs (VMS) positioned alongside or abo
  • December 16, 2013
    Smart phones offer smarter way to pay for travel
    David Crawford reviews developments in near field communications for mass transit payments. ‘A carefully-designed and well-implemented mobile near field communications (NFC) solutions can give passengers a compelling experience that will encourage them to make greater use of public transport.’ That was the confident conclusion of a recent joint White Paper drawn up by the International Association of Public Transport and the global mobile operators’ representative group GSMA.
  • April 9, 2014
    Buses services benefit from seamless Wi-Fi data transfer
    Ted Bowser explains how the almost total Wi-Fi coverage at Ride-On’s new bus garage is providing big benefits for the operator and passengers alike. The ability to download and upload data to and from the various systems on board buses has become central to mass transit operators’ business model. So when Ride-On, the public transportation system in Maryland’s Montgomery County, was moving one of its three depots into a bigger and purpose-built facility, connectivity was a key consideration.
  • March 13, 2013
    Hertfordshire’s traffic control centre ‘improves congestion’
    As part of a wider Hertfordshire County Council strategy to ease congestion across the county, the council is installing variable message signs to provide live incident information, managed by a centralised control centre at County Hall. The centre opened in October last year at a cost of around US$600,000 and is operated by eighteen staff, who monitor the county’s road network. If an accident occurs, traffic signals can be adjusted and messages displayed in a bid to redirect traffic ease congestion. Mainte