NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian is spruiking the virtues of public transport apps
August 13, 2013
Transport for NSW has jumped on the smart phone band wagon spruiking the virtues of commercially available public transport apps for commuting around Sydney town, and releasing a list of bus travel apps.
And NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian has targeted north and north-western Sydney voters by plugging the availability of apps which track bus services through these suburbs.
Berejiklian, to the minister’s credit, is a noted public transport user, announcing that it is now possible to track services run by north-side operators CDC Hillsbus and Forest Coach Lines.
“Real time bus information is now available on these services,” says Berejiklian.
Sydney Buses, Newcastle Buses and Busways Blacktown services could already be tracked on the apps, as well as Sydney Trains services.
There have been more than 1.5 million downloads of the popular bus apps for Sydney in recent times.
“These apps have really changed the way our customers travel – they no longer need a timetable, they can simply see in real time how far away their bus is and they can plan their trip across several modes based on real time information,” Berejiklian says.
“The additional real time data for north-west Sydney will cover CDC Hillsbus services, spanning more than 2900 transit stops, 560 buses and 560 regular and school routes.
“Information for Forest Coach Lines, in the northern suburbs, will cover more than 820 transit stops, 85 buses, and 150 school and regular routes.”
The real time information will include the popular M60 Parramatta to Hornsby service and routes from the north-west to the city such as the M61, 610X and 607X.
City commuters travelling from areas such as Belrose, Terrey Hills and Frenchs Forest will also be included, as will students heading to Macquarie University from West Pymble, Gordon and St Ives, and customers who use routes servicing Davidson.
“We are putting information into customers’ hands so they can choose which transport option is best for them at a particular time,” Berejiklian says.
The NSW Government brought together some of Australia’s most talented app developers to create the apps as part of a competition. The apps that include real time bus information are TripView, TripGo, Arrivo Sydney, Hidden City, Triptastic, Transit Times+ and Jaunt! Sydney.
Some apps provide free ‘lite’ versions or come at a minimal cost and are available for Apple and Android devices.
To download, go to www.131500.com.au/plan-your-trip/Info-on-the-go/apps