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How does real time information work?

What is Real Time Information (RTI)?

Overview:

journey planners and other online sources of information. People use RTI for planning and making journeys across the various modes of transport available to them.

RTI has largely replaced the printed timetable as the key source of information on what journeys, routes and travel times are possible in order to make a journey. This is made possible by:

the availability of journey planner apps on smart phones;

the roll out of digital signs at transport stops.

RTI is critical to making and planning a successful bus journey on a dynamic transport network because multiple issues can affect the punctuality of a bus.

People want to know: “how many minutes away is my bus?”, not “what timetable was my bus was supposed to be running to.” This is confirmed in the findings of Transport Focus’s annual longitudinal study on bus customer satisfaction.

What needs to be in place for RTI to work?

The diagram opposite shows the various components that need to be in place so that a bus customer gets the information they need in order to act upon it.