Skip to main content

Delivering London’s live bus arrival information

Launched in October 2011, Transport for London’s Countdown real time bus information service has proven extremely popular. The latest research shows that around 830,000 bus journeys made in London each day are informed by live bus arrival information. Building on this success, TfL has developed a new way of delivering live bus arrival information to a range of public locations, such as hospital waiting rooms or shopping centre foyers. This means that real time bus arrival information can be provided to pa
April 17, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Launched in October 2011, 1466 Transport for London’s Countdown real time bus information service has proven extremely popular.  The latest research shows that around 830,000 bus journeys made in London each day are informed by live bus arrival information.    

Building on this success, TfL has developed a new way of delivering live bus arrival information to a range of public locations, such as hospital waiting rooms or shopping centre foyers.  This means that real time bus arrival information can be provided to passengers who may not have access to the internet, a mobile or smart phone or a bus stop with a Countdown dot matrix sign.

The technology is delivered at the request of a business or organisation, using their existing IT equipment and displayed on their display screens or televisions.  Designed to be self installed, TfL will supply bus arrival information tailored to their specific location via a special URL.

These digital signs are currently being trialled at four areas of the capital and, as
Simon Reed, Head of Technical Services Group at London Buses, said: “The trial of these new digital signs is a further example of how we are helping our passengers make the most of London’s extensive bus service.  We hope that these new signs will help passengers to access real time bus arrival information, in some cases for the first time, at a variety of locations away from the bus stop.”

Customer research will be conducted to evaluate how well the signs have been used and to refine the service provided.  In the future it is possible that the information could be displayed at a variety of customer focused locations.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TfL trials cyclist detection
    June 5, 2015
    New world first trials would allow TfL to better cater for cyclists at key junctions Further on-street trials will take place later this year TfL now given blanket approval from DfT to install low-level cycle signals at junctions Transport for London (TfL) is to trial a new technology that will help give cyclists more time on green lights.
  • Contracts awarded for London’s traffic signals upgrade
    July 18, 2014
    Transport for London (TfL) has awarded new traffic signals maintenance contracts, worth around US$542 million for up to eight years, which will see the capital’s 6,000 traffic signals upgraded and maintained to the latest, greenest standards. Awarded to Telent Technology Services for west and south-west London, Siemens for north and north-west London and Cubic Transportation Systems for south-east London, the new Traffic Control Management Services contracts will help expand the use of intelligent traf
  • Jonathan Raper from TransportAPI is surfing the open data tidal wave
    August 13, 2015
    Jonathan Raper, managing director of the TransportAPI talks to Colin Sowman about the benefits open data can bring to the public transport sector. That the digital revolution would change the world, including transport, was never in doubt but the question has always been: how? Now, with the ‘Millennium Bug’ relegated to a question on quiz shows, the potential and challenges of digital technology are starting to take shape - and Jonathan Raper is in the vanguard. Raper is managing director of the open data t
  • Reducing transport energy use with real time travel information
    January 23, 2012
    The In-Time project is looking at the effect that multi-modal real-time traveller information services can have of reducing transport's energy consumption levels. By Martin Böhm, AustriaTech GmbH. Around the world, significant research and development effort is currently directed towards reducing energy consumption by addressing those areas where the biggest savings can be expected. European studies have shown that the transport sector has the potential to reduce its energy consumption by up to 26 per cent