Digital bus info a sign of the times
“By using innovative and consumer friendly technologies, we can make public transport more convenient and reliable,” Minister Alan Kelly said.
He was speaking at the switch-on of the city’s first real-time passenger information sign at a bus stop on the Grand Parade. It is the first time the system has been introduced in a city outside Dublin.
It uses GPS technology and an automatic vehicle location system installed on the buses to track their location and feed it back to the signs.
The signs count down the minutes until the bus arrives, giving intending passengers detailed information on when their next bus is due. The information is updated every 30 seconds.
Fourteen signs have been installed at bus stops along some of Cork’s busiest bus routes.
They are being ‘live tested’ for the next three months before the system is rolled out to 47 bus stops across the city.
A smartphone application, a website and text message service is also being developed which will allow passengers to check the information using smartphones or other mobile devices.
The app is due to be launched in March. And Bus Éireann are giving each bus stop an individual identification number with a view to launching the other mobile services in the summer.
Cllr Tony Fitzgerald, the deputy lord mayor of Cork,welcomed the initiative.
“Knowing when your bus will actually arrive provides a greater level of certainty for passengers and I believe they will benefit from this new service,” he said.
“I also think that it will encourage people to use the bus more often, which is important in reducing traffic congestion, helping to make our city even more accessible for everyone.”
Mr Kelly also announced a €3m investment in the city’s bus fleet. Fourteen new Volvo buses — 11 single decker and four double decker vehicles — will enter service over the coming months. They are the first new buses in the city in three years.
The real-time information service has been developed by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Dublin City Council, who are managing the system for local authorities.
Its rollout in Cork forms part of a national rollout of the system which started in Dublin last year, and which will also be extended to Limerick, Waterford and Galway by the end of the year.
NTA chief executive Gerry Murphy encouraged people to provide feedback on the new digital sign system through transportforireland.ie.
He accepted that bus priority must improve in Cork and said the NTA is in discussions with the city council on a five-year bus, cycle lane and commuter transport plan.
He also said that following a major review of the city’s bus services, several changes are on the cards, including improvements to outer orbital or loop routes.
