Skip to main content

Low public transport usage solved by BusPlus journey planner

BusPlus, a ‘hub and spoke’ off-peak public transport option designed by National ICT Australia (NICTA), will be featured at the 2015 ITS World Congress. NICTA claims this service is particularly beneficial during off-peak times, when public transport is frequently inefficient, poorly utilised and expensive to deliver.
July 31, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
NICTA researcher Dr Phil Kilby has developed a system for new off-peak public transport in Canberra
BusPlus, a ‘hub and spoke’ off-peak public transport option designed by National ICT Australia (NICTA), will be featured at the 2015 ITS World Congress. NICTA claims this service is particularly beneficial during off-peak times, when public transport is frequently inefficient, poorly utilised and expensive to deliver.

The solution came from solving low public transport utilisation in Canberra, by introducing a hub and spoke model to the problem.

Hubs are linked by buses, which run frequently (typically every 15 minutes) to facilitate public transport. Passengers are connected to these hubs by taxis, which will bring them to their nearest bus stop by simply booking a trip online, by phone or by downloading the app – and only 15 minutes before they need to go.

According to Dr Phil Kilby, the beauty of this solution is that the BusPlus system plans the whole route including pickup at a user’s local stop, bus travel, and a taxi waiting at the other end to complete the journey. Passengers may share taxis (up to three passengers per taxi) and, when necessary, minibuses can also be used as shuttles.

Other notable NICTA projects on show in Bordeaux include TrafficWatch, a real-time traffic incident detection and monitoring system using social media, as well as NICTA’s ground-breaking research on CBD hotspot prediction, roads performance estimation and smart motorways.

Related Content

  • Cost benefit: Toronto retimings tame traffic trauma
    July 19, 2018
    Canada’s largest city reckons that it is saving its taxpayers’ money simply by altering the way traffic lights work. David Crawford reviews Toronto’s ambitious plans to ease congestion Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis (and the fourth largest in North America), has saved its residents CAN$53 (US$42.4) for every CAN$1 (US$0.80) spent over a 2012-2016 traffic signal retiming programme, according to figures released by its Transportation Services Division. The programme covered 1,275 signals (the city’s
  • EasyMile resorts to AVs in Belgium
    October 14, 2022
    Company will provide unmanned shuttle service at Terhills complex in Flanders
  • Cost benefit: Toronto retimings tame traffic trauma
    July 11, 2018
    Canada’s largest city reckons that it is saving its taxpayers’ money simply by altering the way traffic lights work. David Crawford reviews Toronto’s ambitious plans to ease congestion. Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis (and the fourth largest in North America), has saved its residents CAN$53 (US$42.4) for every CAN$1 (US$0.80) spent over a 2012-2016 traffic signal retiming programme, according to figures released by its Transportation Services Division. The programme covered 1,275 signals (the city’s to
  • ITS World Congress Melbourne app now available
    September 21, 2016
    ITS Australia has announced the introduction of the ITS World Congress Mobile App, powered by Here Maps which will allow delegates to experience the benefits of real-time location services and customised journey planning as they navigate their way around the event venues, as well as across the city of Melbourne. With a constant stream of plenary sessions, executive forums, exhibitions, demonstrations and technical tours taking place across multiple sites and times throughout the four day ITS World Cong