Skip to main content

Cubic’s NextBus Subsidiary seals real time bus arrival deal

Cubic Transportation Systems subsidiary NextBus is expanding its market with its first real-time passenger information systems (RTPIS) project outside North America, with TransLink, the public transportation provider in south east Queensland, Australia.
October 23, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

378 Cubic Transportation Systems subsidiary NextBus is expanding its market with its first real-time passenger information systems (RTPIS) project outside North America, with 376 TransLink, the public transportation provider in south east Queensland, Australia.

Following a successful three-month trial, NextBus will deliver RTPIS to 19 separate transit providers that operate under TransLink.

The contract expands Cubic’s services and capabilities in the region and delivers on a key component of its NextCity strategy - the integration and application of payment, traveller information and operational analytics to regional transportation networks around the world.

By early 2015 the equipment will be installed across the entire TransLink network, which operates across 23 zones and seven regions with the network stretching from Gympie in the north to Coolangatta in the south, and west to Helidon.

New driver console units use GPS, combined with mobile communications on each vehicle to track the exact location and movements of services with arrival times updated every 30 seconds on the TransLink website.

NextBus vehicle arrival information can be accessed through its regularly updated web application and is also accessible through mobile devices including smartphones and tablets, computers and LED/LCD signs at bus shelters and transit depots. Using GPS technology, NextBus automatically determines the passenger’s location and the nearest stops, which passengers can view on a live map on the NextBus website.

For transit operators, the NextBus system provides a host of management tools that enable operators to improve their on-time performance and transit planning. Tools include headway management that tracks how far apart buses are spaced out, schedule adherence, replay maps that utilise historical travel data to show dispatchers past vehicle location information, and the real-time map interface, which allows transit managers to monitor vehicle arrival status in real time.

Related Content

  • Big data helps San Diego optimise public transit
    July 14, 2014
    San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has turned to Cubic’s big data subsidiary Urban Insights to make better use of its data, according to a report in Information Week. The agency has disparate data sources, including a smart-card payment system, GPS-based automatic vehicle location devices on buses, automatic passenger counters on trolleys, and extensive route and schedule information formatted in the general transit feed specification (GTFS) format developed by Google in 2006. "We look at all
  • Mobility itself is moving says cubic
    June 9, 2015
    Cubic’s Chris Bax looks at the challenges and benefits of implementing transport as a service. Imagine paying for travel in exactly the same way you buy your phone service. For example, you would pay a set amount in exchange for a monthly travel package covering up to 100km of free taxi journeys in your home city (including a guaranteed 15 minute pickup) and public transport usage within a 1,500km radius of your home. Not only would this option be cheaper than owning and maintaining your own car, you would
  • Parkeon scoops ticketing deal in Cape Town
    August 18, 2016
    Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS), the principal bus operator in Western Cape, South Africa, has selected Parkeon’s on-bus and back office technology to help deliver its future ticketing strategy for Cape Town and its metropolitan area. The deal includes 1,250 Wayfarer200 driver consoles, 62 fixed and mobile point-of-sale units, depot cashier and driver dispatching devices, and an integrated back office, depot management and administrative software solution. GABS has run scheduled bus services in Cape
  • Live bus prediction technology launched
    January 22, 2013
    Bus passengers in San Bernardino, California now have up-to-the-minute, accurate bus arrival information at their fingertips with bus operator Omnitrans’ new NexTrip technology. Passengers can access NexTrip real-time bus information via mobile web browser, desktop computer, SMS/text, or by calling 1-800-9-OMNIBUS and selecting the NexTrip option. Online, customers can view buses and stops on a route map with real-time tracking. They even can sign up for automatic alerts, such as notification when the bus i