|
|
| PRESS RELEASE (27 July 2004) |
| |
| Passengers Keep Track of their Bus On-Line |
| |
In a first for the British bus industry, independent Midlands company trent barton has pioneered a method by which passengers can keep track on the internet of the buses they catch.
It’s in use on the rainbow 5 service between Nottingham, Long Eaton and East Midlands Airport.
Sarah Taylor, at trentbarton, said: “The beauty of this system is that it’s ‘real time’. When we started to experiment with this on our web site, it soon became clear that people about to set off for work were using it before they left home. After all, it’s much nicer to have that last cup of tea in your own kitchen than wait in a bus shelter.”
‘Star-trak’ is a further development of the company’s ‘star-text’ service – introduced in 2002 as a UK first – that allows passengers to receive text messages telling them exactly when their next bus is due.
The text service came about by installing on each bus a transmitter that sends a signal to a satellite. It’s re-sent to base point software which then beams a message to bus stops on the route. Passengers access the service by keying the six unique letters on each bus stop into their mobile phone and sending a message – and within 30 seconds the actual arrival time of the next bus is relayed to them.
http://www.trentbuses.co.uk/timetables/times/index.html?rainbow5super.html |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
