A World Class Real Time Information Service for Public Transport Users in the West Midlands UK

摘要

The combination of a range of factors including technology convergence, open data initiatives and cuts to governments’ transport budget has created an enabling environment for cheaper and perhaps more efficient ways of harvesting and delivering Real Time Passenger Information and related projects. In the light of these developments, the way public transport information is consumed by commuters has also evolved. Far from the days of having to visit the nearest bus stop with on-street electronic display to get departure information, passengers can now receive departure and planned disruption information for their journeys via the internet and using text messaging query services. Also, it is now possible to receive up to date location aware disruptions information on the move via mobile apps developed for GPS enabled Smartphones. Going by this trend, it can be concluded that with the right conditions in place, passengers’ information needs will continue to evolve and so the passenger information industry as well as government transport departments must continue to adapt in order to successfully address the changes in commuter preference. This paper presents how the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority is responding to this emerging problem.