Skip to main content

UK consults on offering real-time info to bus riders

The UK government has launched a consultation on whether bus operators should be legally obliged to share data with the public. If the answer is yes, then passengers across the country would be given real-time information on routes, timetables and fares. Bus minister Nusrat Ghani says: “By requiring bus operators to share their data, we can make sure that passengers have the information they need to catch the bus with ease, equipped with the right information about the time and cost.” Additionally, th
July 5, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The UK government has launched a consultation on whether bus operators should be legally obliged to share data with the public. If the answer is yes, then passengers across the country would be given real-time information on routes, timetables and fares.


Bus minister Nusrat Ghani says: “By requiring bus operators to share their data, we can make sure that passengers have the information they need to catch the bus with ease, equipped with the right information about the time and cost.”

Additionally, the consultation will also look at making companies provide audio and visual information on buses to help disabled and the elderly passengers travel more confidently.

James White, senior campaigns manager at the charity Guide Dogs, says: “Accessible information on board buses is absolutely vital to help people with sight loss travel with confidence.”

The project will also support local services where demand is failing and help increase ridership across the UK.

Ghani made the announcement at Reading Buses, which is already using open data to improve bus journeys. The operator says it has seen a 48% increase in ridership through a number of initiatives focused on making information more easily available.

Related Content

  • April 29, 2015
    NOCoE delivers data for diligent DOTs
    David Crawford talks to Dennis Motiani about the role of the new National Operations Centre of Excellence. Consolidating the collective experience of the US transportation system’s management and operations (TSM&O) community, streamlining its information gathering, while cutting research times and costs are the key drivers behind the country’s new National Operations Centre of Excellence (NOCoE). Launched in January at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), this sets out to be a sin
  • November 26, 2019
    Amey: Mobility must focus on collaboration
    Traditional modes of transport are being disrupted by new technologies and private sector businesses. Amey says that sustainability and the need to forge partnerships will be key going forward.
  • January 16, 2012
    Dutch survey shows drivers are in favour of road user charging
    'Keep it simple, stupid' is an oft-forgotten axiom but in terms of road user charging it is entirely appropriate. So says the ANWB's Ferry Smith. A couple of decades ago, it might have been largely true that the technology aspects of advanced road infrastructure were the main obstacles to deployment. However, 20 years or more of development have led to a situation where such 'obstacles' are often no more than a political fig-leaf. Area-wide Road User Charging (RUC) is a case in point; speak candidly to syst
  • May 2, 2022
    How Covid has impacted transportation
    How have Covid-induced changes in transportation impacted health? And how can transport companies mitigate these effects? Soheil Sohrabi of S-Plus-M and Texas A&M University explains