The state of electronic bus bulletin boards will lift in Canberra as NXTBUS comes into view
July 19, 2013
Testing will soon commence on Canberra’s real time passenger information system NXTBUS, which will fully rollout across Australia’s national capital by December.
NXTBUS infrastructure is currently being installed at bus stations and major bus stops across Canberra.
NXTBUS will track Canberra’s government-operated Action bus fleet, providing live information about arrival times via digital displays installed at bus stations, online, smartphones, tablets, over the phone and on-bus visual displays.
Australian Capital Territory Municipal Services minister Shane Rattenbury says travellers will know when the next bus arrives, if it is running on time, and whether it is bike rack equipped or wheelchair accessible.
“The real time information system – NXTBUS – is an exciting development for Canberra’s public transport system,” Rattenbury says.
“It will make catching an Action bus more convenient and change the way people use public transport in Canberra.
“This modern technology will help grow Canberra’s public transport future, as Action buses improve and light rail comes on-line.”
Canberra’s City Bus Station will be the first site to have the advance displays installed with work about to commence.
The displays will be a combination of four and eight line double-sided digital displays, and once the system is operational will show the route, destination, departure time, platform number and if the bus is equipped with a bike rack or is wheelchair accessible.
The displays are expected to be progressively rolled out over the next few months.
“We are about to enter a busy but exciting phase in the real time information system project with the installation of display infrastructure at our bus stations progressing in parallel with final testing of the system,” Rattenbury says.
He says a mini fleet trial of the system is scheduled to commence early August to test on-bus equipment, passenger information displays and back-to-base communication systems.
“This will help iron out any issues prior to the expected launch of NXTBUS in December,” says Rattenbury.
“Work has commenced on installing equipment on 30 buses in preparation for the trial. This work will happen at night so as to not impact on buses on the road.
The real time project is being delivered by Trapeze which has a proven track record in delivering real time systems around the world including the award-winning iBus project in London.