Skip to main content

Live bus prediction technology launched

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
January 22, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Bus passengers in San Bernardino, California now have up-to-the-minute, accurate bus arrival information at their fingertips with bus operator 7107 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 is five minutes away.

Omnitrans CEO/general manager Milo Victoria was instrumental in bringing the new technology to Omnitrans. “We introduced this in DC, while I was at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and our passengers absolutely loved it. So I promised our board we would implement it at Omnitrans,” he said.

To use NexTrip, customers simply provide their bus stop location information by bus route, direction and intersection or an Omnitrans bus stop number, located on all bus stop signs. GPS-enabled phones can automatically provide information for the closest bus stop.  Omnitrans will install new signs with complete NexTrip contact information in mid-2013.  The signs will feature a QR code passengers can scan, providing yet another option to access arrival times.

The system uses global positioning system (GPS) tracking satellites and advanced computer modeling developed by Nextbus of California to provide accurate arrival information for all 2,500 bus stops in the Omnitrans fixed route bus system. According to Omnitrans, taking into account the actual location of the buses, their intended stops, and the typical traffic patterns, NexTrip estimates arrivals with a high degree of accuracy.

In 2014, Omnitrans will roll out NexTrip electronic message signs on all twenty-three station platforms on the agency’s sbX bus rapid transit line, now under construction in San Bernardino and Loma Linda.  Real-time information signs will also be added to major transfer centers in the Omnitrans system.

Related Content

  • Translink’s ticketing system for Glider
    January 4, 2019
    Translink has launched its future ticketing system for the Glider bus rapid transit network in Belfast. The technology will provide riders with more flexible options to pay for journeys, the company says. Riders will be able to pay with cash, smartcard and contactless payment cards, mobile payments, online accounts and Translink smart cards. Flowbird developed the system and a back office architecture called CloudFare. It is intended to allow administrators to monitor and control ticketing devices dire
  • BART launches multi-modal trip planner app in San Francisco
    January 22, 2019
    Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has launched a trip planner app in San Francisco to provide commuters with access to various transportation modes and information on service disruptions. The BART Trip Planner was developed in collaboration with HaCon – whose software processes transit data from more than 30 operators including buses, trains, ferries and cable cars. BART says the app takes walking, cycling and car routes and the state of traffic into account to give users a realistic comparison of their commu
  • Hungary to get real-time passenger information system
    February 13, 2013
    T-Systems Hungary has been awarded a contract by Hungarian public transport operator Kaposvari Tomegkozlekedesi to set up a new passenger information system in the municipality of Kaspovar. The project includes the installation of passenger information displays including 41 solar-powered units at bus stops, wi-fi hotspots, and a new real-time GPS tracking system. Bus arrival times will be displayed on the passenger information displays, including information on the arrival of low-floor buses for the disabl
  • The weighty problem of truck routing enforcement
    March 17, 2015
    The growing impact of heavy commercial vehicles on urban and interurban highway infrastructures around the world is driving the need for reliable route access restriction and monitoring. The support role of enforcement is proving fertile ground for ITS development. Bridges are especially vulnerable – and critical in terms of travel delays. The US state of Oregon’s Department of Transportation (ODOT) operates what it claims is one of the country’s most aggressive truck route restriction enforcement programme