Skip to main content

Coming soon...real time passenger communication in advance of travel

A partnership between UK payment and ticketing solutions provider Parkeon and Cloud Amber is about to deliver real time passenger information (RTPI) in advance of travel that the companies say is redefining the effectiveness of RTPI systems. The system developed by Parkeon and Cloud Amber enables over-the-air location tracking of buses, the deep integration with urban traffic management control (UTMC) data and two-way driver messaging. This bus-centric view means that operators are better able to manage
November 25, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A partnership between UK payment and ticketing solutions provider 251 Parkeon and Cloud Amber is about to deliver real time passenger information (RTPI) in advance of travel that the companies say is redefining the effectiveness of RTPI systems.

The system developed by Parkeon and Cloud Amber enables over-the-air location tracking of buses, the deep integration with urban traffic management control (UTMC) data and two-way driver messaging. This bus-centric view means that operators are better able to manage and report on fleet performance in areas such as schedule adherence, including early and late running indicators, while passengers benefit from an information flow to RTI displays, websites and Apps that is accurate based on live conditions.

This is enabling bus operators to make better fleet and route management decisions – now though plans are moving ahead to use the data to provide valuable information to customers in real time in advance of travel.

“One year on from the launch of our partnership with Cloud Amber and we are making significant progress in winning market share for real time information systems,” says Owen Griffith, managing director of Parkeon Transit. “We’ve been successful in helping Newport Transport to take control of its own RTI system and won contracts with other bus operators for fleet management and two-way driver messaging. The next step is to leverage this data to enhance the customer experience.”

“The next focus is to use the available data to add value to both operators and customers through proactive communication,” says Alan Butterworth, Managing Director of Cloud Amber. “Data captured through smartcards opens up the potential to provide passengers with real time travel information that is specific to their journey and plans in a means of their choosing...whether via an App, email, text or social media channel. This is a very exciting development that has the potential to transform the customer experience, particularly when considering travel plans across multiple modes.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Tram ticketing contract for Parkeon
    January 16, 2013
    UK headquartered ticketing technology company Parkeon Transit is to provide the complete ticketing system for the Edinburgh tram project, including the supply and maintenance of the company’s latest Galexio-Plus ticket machines, Axio platform validators, and hand-held payment terminals. The system will be enabled to dual-read both ITSO cards and the Lothian Buses’ Ridacard, and will be linked to the existing Lothian Buses’ back office, with card holders sharing the benefits across both the tram and bus netw
  • Smart phones offer smarter way to pay for travel
    December 16, 2013
    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.
  • Cubic Transportation Systems launches Cubic NextBus
    October 10, 2017
    Cubic has announced its business division, Cubic Transportation Systems, is releasing the Cubic NextBus (CNB) to multimodal transit agencies, authorities and operators to provide Transit Management as a Service. The CNB uses public cloud architecture and machine learning capabilities for further enhanced real-time passenger information (RTPI), proactive transit fleet operations and mobile user experience.
  • Virtual ticket? It's the future
    January 12, 2024
    We're asking ITS and transportation leaders to give us the heads-up on where mobility is headed in 2024 and beyond. Nick Mackie, head of urban transit at Visa, shares his thoughts