Skip to main content

App taps into world’s largest and most complex real time passenger info system

Transport for London’s (TfL) award winning Countdown System delivers bus real time information for every one of the 19,000 bus stops and 700 routes in London is claimed to be the largest and most technically complex real time passenger information system of its kind in the world. In 2009 Telent was awarded the contract by TfL to develop the Countdown software to deliver web and mobile content.
July 11, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSS1466 Transport for London’s (TfL) award winning Countdown System delivers bus real time information for every one of the 19,000 bus stops and 700 routes in London is claimed to be the largest and most technically complex real time passenger information system of its kind in the world. In 2009 525 Telent was awarded the contract by TfL to develop the Countdown software to deliver web and mobile content.

Following on from that success, UK-headquartered Telent has launched a new iphone app called BUStop London which takes full advantage of the information provided by the Countdown system. The app provides a clean user interface allowing users to easily see their nearest bus stops and travel options. It has seamless integration with social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook as well as allowing the easy sending of emails and SMS messages in-app. This means that users can efficiently share information, in a variety of ways, based on their location and bus travel plans.

BUStop London also allows users to set customisable alerts notifying them when a bus is approaching a selected stop. For example, a user could set an alert for five minutes before their bus reaches their nearest stop, thus allowing them to finish their coffee. A user could also set an alert when they’re 100 metres from their destination stop helping ensure they alight at the right place, and through integration with Facebook, Twitter and SMS, users now can conveniently let friends and family know their arrival times and destinations directly from the app.

The app is available from the Apple AppStore, and for a limited time is a free download.

Related Content

  • March 14, 2013
    Transport for London launches competition to create accessibility apps
    Transport for London (TfL) is launching a competition to create new 'Accessibility Apps', marking the first of a series of initiatives to improve the variety of accessibility apps on offer. As part of the competition developers are being invited to apply with ideas for a new travel app which will make Transport for London (TfL) real time data more accessible to a far wider audience than mainstream Apple/Android apps. The winning entries will receive development support from TfL. Making the transport network
  • March 17, 2015
    TfL ‘fastest growing contactless merchant in Europe’
    Transport for London (TfL) claims to be the fastest growing contactless Visa merchant in Europe and the UK for Mastercard and American Express just six months after it was launched on London Underground, tram, DLR, London Overground, buses and most National Rail services in London. The world leading technology is now being used by millions of customers, providing them with easier and more convenient journeys. Customers using contactless pay the same adult-rate pay as you go fare as Oyster and benefit from h
  • June 2, 2014
    Strike action prompts commuters to try something different
    David Crawford highlights responses to transit disruption on both sides of the Atlantic. Shortly before workers at San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) began a lengthy round of pay and conditions-related strikes in summer 2013, impacting on the daily lives of 400,000 communities, online ridesharing group Avego publicised a new web address: bartstrike.com. By the start of the following week, Avego was encouraging stranded commuters to download its smartphone app by offering them the chance in a raffle
  • October 20, 2014
    Real-time travel information to roll out in South East Queensland
    The South East Queensland government, Australia, is set to roll out real time travel information across South East Queensland from next month. Announcing the new technology, Transport and Main Roads Minister, Scott Emerson, said: “This new technology is all part of our strong plan for a brighter future to improve public transport for Queenslanders and boost the local economy. Real-time technology enables passengers to know exactly where their bus is in the morning which could mean enough time for an extr