Passengers told when next bus due (From This Is Lancashire)

Passengers told when next bus due

10:09am Thursday 21st September 2006

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A SEEMINGLY endless wait for a bus with little idea of when it will arrive could be a thing of the past for passengers in Blackburn Road, Bolton.

Bus stops along the route out of Bolton are among 260 in Greater Manchester to have been fitted with new technology which tells passengers when the next service is due.

The initiative has come about through a partnership between Surtronic, a Belgian information system developer, and Interalia, a Canadian company that manufactures voice announcement technology.

A spokesman for Interalia said: "The whole thing uses wireless communication and computer software.

"A black box on the bus transmits information to a central computer via radio link, and this enables the computer to track the progress of the bus and update the information unit at each bus stop."

The information is displayed visually by information units, and there are also speakers to give audio information.

These are activated by an electronic key fob, and hundreds of these have been distributed by charities and support organisations to visually impaired passengers and those with learning difficulties.

The system has been designed to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), which came into force in October, 2004.

Gary Davies, head of Transportation Product Marketing at Interalia, said: "The Disability Discrimination Act demands that all public services provide the disabled with equivalent facilities as those enjoyed by the able bodied where reasonably practical.

"This new system enables transport companies and local authorities to comply fully with the new DDA regulations."

The system can also support other methods of obtaining real-time information, including live feeds to the Traveline call centre, internet access and text message. This allows passengers to have access to live data without having to go to a bus stop.

The system can also give priority to buses at traffic lights by making a direct request to the Traffic Control Centre, where the traffic lights are centrally controlled.

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