Case Study
CENTRO Real Time Information
Tools Involved
- Passenger Information Systems;
- Multimodal Trip Planning, and
- Freight & Fleet Management.
Future options for:
- Public Transport Priority
Site Description
The Centro (ACIS) real time information (RTI) system covers approximately 90 bus routes in the West Midlands area.
Site Problems
There are approximately 2.3 million people living within the West Midlands area, of which 1 million live in Birmingham. The West Midlands has a relatively high proportion of trips made by Public Transport, but bus patronage has been falling. Bus services in the area range from those with very high frequencies (every 4 minutes during the day) to those with much lower frequencies. Similarly, the areas traversed by bus services range from busy to quiet and prosperous to very poor.
Many routes suffer from poor bus journey time reliability caused largely by recurrent traffic congestion.
The RTI project seeks to improve the waiting experience for passengers by providing certainty of bus arrivals, and seeks to deliver other objectives as discussed in section 1.1.5.
The ‘at stop’ infrastructure varies across the West Midlands with high quality bus shelters in some locations and stop poles or bays marked on the road in other locations. Traditionally the ‘at stop’ printed information provided has been of patchy quality and inconsistent, although the Network West Midlands initiative has sought to improve this substantially.
Scheme Description
The RTI project consists of:
- 650 buses fitted with automatic vehicle location equipment
- Over 750 at stop displays;
- 23 large 9-line displays at key interchanges, giving details of all buses using bus stops at that location;
- 2000 stops enabled for SMS real time text information
- A map based website interface allowing users to find out the latest real-time predictions for their stop; and
- Bus fleet management systems at key bus garages.
On bus computers continuously calculate their position by looking at satellites. Every 20 seconds this information is fed back to a central computer using the GPRS data communications network. The central computer then calculates how far each bus is from upcoming stops on route and estimates how long they will take to get there.
These estimates are based on a complex algorithm, which takes into account a number of factors, such as the times taken by preceding buses to reach each stop and the current speed of vehicles.
Information on predicted waiting times is disseminated to bus passengers in a variety of ways.
Over 750 RTI signs have been installed. Each sign lists up to the next 9 buses due to pass the relevant stop, giving details of route number, destination and expected time until arrival. This information is also provided for the visually impaired through the means of an audio key fob.
Information is also provided via the Network West Midlands website and an SMS service, where passengers can text a stop code to a central number and find out details of the next buses arriving at their stop. At several bus depots, sophisticated fleet management software shows operators where buses are and how well they are performing against timetable. This enables the operators to actively manage the RTI service and provide more reliable services to passengers.
Scheme Objectives
The scheme objectives, as defined in the original funding bid documents were to:
- Improving economic regeneration – with real time information delivered directly to business and office centres via a website assisting employers to support and retain staff;
- Improving social inclusion and accessibility – where showcase bus schemes have been shown to encourage people to travel regularly for the first time thus lessening social exclusion;
- Encouraging sustainable travel patterns – real time information is expected to assist in retention of existing customers;
- Improving safety and health – the real time information availability via the web and SMS should help people plan their movements prior to arrival at bus stops;
- Improving integration – The RTI system will link to other RTI systems to enable provision of multimodal travel information.
Improvements
It is anticipated that the system will:
- improve the efficiency (and regularity) of the bus services provided through the use of fleet management software;
- improve the quality of information provided to bus passengers at stops and elsewhere about when their services will arrive;
- improve user perception of public transport provision.
Integrated Systems
The system has been designed to integrate with the KIZOOM-run Traveline SMS service and other RTI systems.
Costs
Capital costs incurred are approximately: £10 million
Revenue costs: approximately £400,000 / annum
Benefits
Benefits are shown in the table below.
Benefits Expected |
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Impact Assessment |
Environment |
Some environmental benefits may be anticipated based on more efficient fleet management, although no quantifiable benefits have yet been reported. |
Accessibility |
No benefits expected or reported. |
|
Safety |
No benefits expected or reported. |
|
Efficiency and Economy |
Some efficiency benefits expected from enhanced fleet management. |
|
Integration |
Integration with other Government policy Some social inclusion and e-government benefits have been identified. |
|
Technical Performance |
93% of commissioned signs working – Average (1st September 05 to 1st March 06). Most sign faults due to power supply faults to shelters. |
|
User Acceptance |
The following results were obtained during 1,750 face-to-face interviews conducted during a period from 1st September 2008 to 5th October 2008: |
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No attempt has been made to validate the results reported. Users of the guidance are encouraged to assess the robustness of the results presented and the likely transferability of the case study to their own local environment.
More Information
For real time information in the West Midlands, please visit the Network West Midlands website: http://www.networkwestmidlands.com
For the mobile internet site please see:http://www.netwm.mobi
