12 REAL-TIME PASSENGER INFORMATIONSUPPLEMENT


them to monitor the schedules and revise them accordingly with changing traffic conditions. We are now working with the other bus


operating companies in our network to get the equipment installed on their vehicles, while we are also hard at work on the roadside too. At present, Centro has approximately 800 real-time information displays installed at major stops and interchanges. The ambition is to increase this to around 1,300 main bus stops across the Centro region by 2014. At stop displays have audio as well enabling


passengers with sight difficulties to access the same information through the use of a keyfob that they press at the bus stops. It has been a similar story on the rail


At stop displays also have audio features enabling passengers with sight difficulties to access the same information through the use of a keyfob that they press at the stop.


the remainder of the fleet will also be equipped, such is the belief that this will improve passenger experience.


Technology And as the system has grown, other technology has been included as well. In Coventry, the system has developed using MESH technology, which is a point-to-point fibre optic transmission technology allowing free communications to move between real-time screens. This means the


usual costs associated with data are removed and therefore cheaper to run over time. The equipment on buses is Private Mobile Radio (PMR) using local mast transmission in Coventry for efficient and cheap data transmission, different again to the GPRS system found across the way in Birmingham. National Express uses automatic vehicle


detection technology to identify late or early buses and adjust the service accordingly to improve service to the passengers. It also helps


Passengers in the West Midlands can now get up-to-the minute information sent to their mobile phones.


knows exactly where on the rail network the trains are. As well as the electronic displays and PA systems, hearing induction loops have also been installed, ensuring that accurate and up-to-date timetable information is available for people with either visual or hearing difficulties.


Through market research activities, passengers have given the RTI systems the thumbs up, saying that it added real value to their journey experience.


Eurotransport Volume 9, Issue 3, 2011


Experience It has been a lot of hard work and there have been teething problems along the way. With the bus network, for instance, we had to make sure that when buses were stuck in traffic the system accurately reported how many minutes away they were from the passengers’ stop. We found that despite it being state-of-the-


art equipment, it couldn’t always achieve this at first. Eventually we found that the buses


network, where information displays and automatic Public Address systems have been installed at all 63 commuter stations in the region. They let people know exactly how many minutes until their train will pull in to the station by linking in to signalling technology which


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