Can UK public buses do real-time tracking?

Britband · 4 Jul 2017

By travelling to other place, found that some countries has made their buses real time tracking so the citizen there can know where and when the bus arrive.
Thought this is good project.
What do you think of this and if we do, how?

Edit: As I know Gps Tracker is the core of these kind of project. As I search those GPS Tracker and found Goome Tracker (No ads), what if I want to
launch a share-bike project. Would it help?

RailUK Forums

Liligofree · 4 Jul 2017

I am a Chinese, we have such an app can query the bus station information

Lrd · 4 Jul 2017

Most of the buses (if not all) in London have live tracking

zarah · 4 Jul 2017

There are companies doing it,you could research on the Internet :lol:

Bletchleyite · 4 Jul 2017

Yes, Arriva do it on most of their network, you can see them on a map on their mobile phone app. It's also fed to display screens in many towns.

It has the further benefit of reducing the temptation to run early deliberately that some drivers previously did, as they know they will get caught and asked for tea with no biscuits.

Britband · 4 Jul 2017

Lrd said:
Most of the buses (if not all) in London have live tracking

Great. I am new to Leicester so haven't aware of that!!
How can I check the bus in London (or most of the bus)

nottinghamcity · 4 Jul 2017

In the greater Nottingham area, the major bus operators, and the tram have consolidated their real time information, and it is all available using the Robin Hood network app, and on the individual operators' websites

Britband · 4 Jul 2017

Bletchleyite said:
Yes, Arriva do it on most of their network, you can see them on a map on their mobile phone app. It's also fed to display screens in many towns.

It has the further benefit of reducing the temptation to run early deliberately that some drivers previously did, as they know they will get caught and asked for tea with no biscuits.

I will now go check Arriva now. Thanks bro.

pemma · 4 Jul 2017

Arriva North West have live bus tracking. However, their app and website lacks a bit of functionality e.g. if there's no report it automatically shows the bus on time, even when it's showing the same vehicle as not yet having arrived at it's destination on it's inbound journey. Also strangely, if all vehicles get severely delayed it can end up showing all services running 60 minutes late rather than a couple of cancelled services and then services returning to normal.

Britband · 4 Jul 2017

jcollins said:
Arriva North West have live bus tracking. However, their app and website lacks a bit of functionality e.g. if there's no report it automatically shows the bus on time, even when it's showing the same vehicle as not yet having arrived at it's destination on it's inbound journey. Also strangely, if all vehicles get severely delayed it can end up showing all services running 60 minutes late rather than a couple of cancelled services and then services returning to normal.

I think there is something relate to the trackers, perhaps the data was not updated simultaneously.

Bletchleyite · 4 Jul 2017

jcollins said:
Arriva North West have live bus tracking. However, their app and website lacks a bit of functionality e.g. if there's no report it automatically shows the bus on time, even when it's showing the same vehicle as not yet having arrived at it's destination on it's inbound journey. Also strangely, if all vehicles get severely delayed it can end up showing all services running 60 minutes late rather than a couple of cancelled services and then services returning to normal.

The reason for this is that unlike railway PIS it basically has no manual sanity checking. You therefore have to use it a bit like RTT (Realtime Trains) and sanity check it yourself.

ivanhoe · 4 Jul 2017

Bletchleyite said:
The reason for this is that unlike railway PIS it basically has no manual sanity checking. You therefore have to use it a bit like RTT (Realtime Trains) and sanity check it yourself.

Agreed. If the tracking is showing that it hits every stop on time and is in peak, I tend to treat it with a bit of caution. Helps that it is an every 12 minutes service until 630pm like. In general, I find it very useful. It decides if I can have another pint in the evening for me

matt_world2004 · 4 Jul 2017

Britband said:
Great. I am new to Leicester so haven't aware of that!!
How can I check the bus in London (or most of the bus)

Citymapper. London vehicle finder and live london bus map shows where the buses are. The bus location data is rounded to the next stop on live london bus map and lvf. So soon as it passes the last stop it will show the bus at the next stop but give an eta for when it will reach the next stop

Bletchleyite · 4 Jul 2017

ivanhoe said:
Agreed. If the tracking is showing that it hits every stop on time and is in peak, I tend to treat it with a bit of caution. Helps that it is an every 12 minutes service until 630pm like. In general, I find it very useful. It decides if I can have another pint in the evening for me??????

It does mean less standing around at bus stops and more certainty.

I would like to see it move more towards railway concepts with operator control rooms encouraged[1] to enter cancellations, reasons for problems etc, but as it is it is way, way better than nothing and does encourage me to use buses more for time critical journeys because I can see I'm unlikely to be let down (or know for certain I am and so make another plan instead).

[1] I could actually even see it as being reasonable for it to become a condition of operation; a laptop in the corner of even the smallest independent's depot for the admin staff to use when the drivers phone in a problem is hardly a massive overhead.

matt_world2004 · 4 Jul 2017

Bletchleyite said:
It does mean less standing around at bus stops and more certainty.

I would like to see it move more towards railway concepts with operator control rooms encouraged[1] to enter cancellations, reasons for problems etc, but as it is it is way, way better than nothing and does encourage me to use buses more for time critical journeys because I can see I'm unlikely to be let down (or know for certain I am and so make another plan instead).

[1] I could actually even see it as being reasonable for it to become a condition of operation; a laptop in the corner of even the smallest independent's depot for the admin staff to use when the drivers phone in a problem is hardly a massive overhead.

Operators in London can already see individual buses headway if it is running on time or late and tfl centrecomm already divert buses in times of disruption

Bletchleyite · 4 Jul 2017

matt_world2004 said:
Operators in London can already see individual buses headway if it is running on time or late and tfl centrecomm already divert buses in times of disruption

Indeed, though that kind of level of control is not common elsewhere due to funding constraints. It'd be a reasonable substitute just to have a bus with a "problem" (e.g. no tracking or a delay of more than say 5 minutes) flagged up in a queue to have the depot admin enter the reason against it.

vicbury · 4 Jul 2017

Bletchleyite said:
It does mean less standing around at bus stops and more certainty.

I would like to see it move more towards railway concepts with operator control rooms encouraged[1] to enter cancellations, reasons for problems etc, but as it is it is way, way better than nothing and does encourage me to use buses more for time critical journeys because I can see I'm unlikely to be let down (or know for certain I am and so make another plan instead).

[1] I could actually even see it as being reasonable for it to become a condition of operation; a laptop in the corner of even the smallest independent's depot for the admin staff to use when the drivers phone in a problem is hardly a massive overhead.

First are pretty good at showing cancellations in Bristol, less so in Bath. The main issue at the moment is that the tracker is a separate device to the ticket machine so if it goes down it isn't the highest priority. This means buses that are running don't track as such.

I understand that the new ticket machines, which do contactless payment, have the tracking built-in. So in theory tracking should always work as buses won't be sent out without working ticket machines!

SpacePhoenix · 4 Jul 2017

I think MoreBus might do, if so I'd imagine that Salisbury Reds and possibly Damory would also as well

GaryMcEwan · 4 Jul 2017

Depending on what part of the country you're in Stagecoach gives real time updates via it's app. I know that East Scotland definitely does it.

causton · 4 Jul 2017

ivanhoe said:
Agreed. If the tracking is showing that it hits every stop on time and is in peak, I tend to treat it with a bit of caution. Helps that it is an every 12 minutes service until 630pm like. In general, I find it very useful. It decides if I can have another pint in the evening for me??????

On the Arriva app around here (Leighton Buzzard and Watford areas) it shows "No realtime available" - wonder if it works differently!

If it shows No realtime available and the bus should have already left the terminus, it either means you've probably got a free ride as the ticket machine is broken or the bus is cancelled :lol:

Edit:

The last bus today will probably remove the "No realtime available" message when it gets nearer to the end of the previous trip or when it starts that actual trip, I am guessing!

PeterC · 4 Jul 2017

Oxford are very good but Carousel, despite being part of the same operational group at GoAhead can be eratic. Independents around here such as Red Rose don't have trackers on their buses at all.

On occasions in both London and Oxford I have expected long waits for a bus only to have one with a failed tracker turn up within minutes.

I have the travelline app on my phone. While it is valuable for times it is also good if you are in a strange area as you can track the location of the bus that you are on and know when your stop is near.

Silver Cobra · 4 Jul 2017

GaryMcEwan said:
Depending on what part of the country you're in Stagecoach gives real time updates via it's app. I know that East Scotland definitely does it.

All areas covered by Stagecoach East (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdon, Norfolk and Peterborough) have real-time tracking available on the Stagecoach app.

sk688 · 5 Jul 2017

In London, just use citymapper, Google Maps, or the black boxes at the bus stops

Britband · 6 Jul 2017

sk688 said:
In London, just use citymapper, Google Maps, or the black boxes at the bus stops

appreciate that, pal

175mph · 13 Mar 2018

East Yorkshire Motor Services has this mentioned tracking feature.

ChathillMan · 13 Mar 2018

Bletchleyite said:
I would like to see it move more towards railway concepts with operator control rooms encouraged[1] to enter cancellations, reasons for problems etc, but as it is it is way, way better than nothing and does encourage me to use buses more for time critical journeys because I can see I'm unlikely to be let down (or know for certain I am and so make another plan instead).

.

Most real time systems have this functionality. Busy control rooms with drivers calling every couple of minutes on the radio, issuing duties and recording lost mileage (you get the picture) mean it it can be the last thing that gets done.

The Ham · 13 Mar 2018

Has London changed its system, as I know when it was starting to be rolled out it was based on passing beacons mounted on street furniture?

gazthomas · 13 Mar 2018

Hertfordshire has this:

http://publichertfordshire.rslepi.co.uk/Uepi/home.aspx

radamfi · 13 Mar 2018

It should be possible to get an app that works for all buses in a particular region, if not the whole country, as is the case in Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands. There are nationwide real time apps such as UK Bus Checker which have real time info for some areas but in others it only shows scheduled timings, even where the operator does its own real time info, for example Stagecoach.

ivanhoe · 13 Mar 2018

Arriva App is fine as it goes but increasingly a number of buses appear not to be tracking. Indeed, when tracking is not working on a particular bus, the App still shows the bus on time even though it maybe running late or indeed cancelled. That’s my experience in Leicestershire.

Can UK public buses do real-time tracking?

Member

RailUK Forums

New Member

Established Member

New Member

Veteran Member

Member

Member

Member

Veteran Member

Member

Veteran Member

Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Member

Member

Member

On Moderation

Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Member