Skip to main content

TfL launches Countdown digital information signs

Following a successful trial in London, Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new Countdown digital sign service, providing a new way to deliver tailored live bus arrival information cheaply and effectively to a range of public locations, such as hospital waiting rooms, schools or shopping centre foyers. The trial demonstrated the signs worked well, delivering clear, easily accessible information about local bus services, utilising existing IT and display equipment in public locations.
June 3, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Following a successful trial in London, 1466 Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new Countdown digital sign service, providing a new way to deliver tailored live bus arrival information cheaply and effectively to a range of public locations, such as hospital waiting rooms, schools or shopping centre foyers.

The trial demonstrated the signs worked well, delivering clear, easily accessible information about local bus services, utilising existing IT and display equipment in public locations.

The technology can be self-installed using existing equipment, enabling it to be delivered at minimal cost.  Organisations are provided with a tailored web link via a dedicated URL that will give information for the bus stop or stops in the immediate vicinity. An electronic map detailing the local area is also displayed, which is especially useful for passengers unfamiliar with the location.

The introduction of the digital signs service compliments the Countdown real time bus information service which was upgraded and relaunched in October 2011.  The service provides live bus arrival information via dot matrix signs at bus stops, the web, smart phones and SMS, and informs around thirteen per cent of all bus journeys every day.

Simon Reed, head of technical services group at London Buses, said: “We hope the new digital sign service will help passengers make the most of London’s extensive bus service.  The service makes use of existing infrastructure that is already in place in many public spaces and can be delivered cheaply and quickly.  It will help our passengers’ access real time bus information away from their local stop which is especially helpful for those who may not have access to the internet or a smart phone.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Traffic signals turn red to stop speeding drivers
    March 15, 2012
    David Crawford is encouraged by the spread of 'soft' speed policing 
  • Real-time bus arrivals delivered via scan code
    March 6, 2013
    Quick Response codes, or QR codes, are being introduced on a trial basis at some local bus stops in Shanghai to allow passengers to check the whereabouts of buses and the expected arrival time of the next bus. Passengers can obtain real-time information on buses by scanning the QR code using their smartphones, allowing them to adjust commuting plans. The service was first launched in Shanghai during late 2012. Almost 90 bus routes serving Pudong New Area can be checked using a smartphone application. People
  • Hamburg’s on-demand alternative to commuting by car
    December 5, 2017
    As Hamburg is confirmed as the host for the 2021 ITS World Congress, David Crawford looks at the city’s moves towards enabling MaaS-type operations. Germany’s second-largest city, Hamburg, is pinning its civic reputation on having its promised all-electric, on-demand, shuttle bus ridesharing service up and running by 2018. Partners in the three-year project are regional metro and bus service provider Hamburger Hochbahn and Volkswagen Group’s Berlinbased mobility innovation subsidiary Moia, which was set
  • Moovit updates RideMicro on-demand 
    February 23, 2022
    App directs users to pick-up location and provides real-time tracking in North Carolina