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

  • September 16, 2020
    Opinion: Have we missed our moment to reinvent mass transport?
    We need to focus on providing better mass transportation services during the COVID-19 pandemic - and work out how to help travellers to rapidly regain confidence in using them as lockdowns end
  • April 2, 2024
    £143m for zero-emission buses in UK
    Zebra programme funding will see new electric buses in towns, villages and cities in England
  • May 4, 2016
    Priority boosts ridership and cuts congestion
    Transit priority is proving a win-win in Europe and Australia. David Crawford reports. Technology that integrates with the Australian-originated Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) is driving bus signal priority and performance analysis initiatives on both sides of the world; in its homeland, with a major deployment in 2015, and in the capital of the Republic of Ireland.
  • January 23, 2012
    Open-source journey planning - the way forward?
    Peter Bell, managing director of journey planning provider Trapeze Group, ponders the business models which will underpin future travel information services from a UK perspective Traditionally, journey planning websites for public transport in the UK (for example, Transport Direct, the Traveline regions or National Rail Enquiries) have been provided by the transport operators keen to increase ridership and revenues, or by public bodies who hope to encourage a modal switch to public transport by making it e