Use of ubiquitous real‐time bus passenger information

Abstract

Ubiquitous real-time passenger information (URTPI) enhances the perceived quality of service of public transport and enables travellers to make better pre-trip and en-route travel choices. The paper presents an exploratory study of the use of URTPI. We analyse the popularity of this kind of information, of the sources through which it is disseminated, and of the contents that it conveys. In particular, we are interested in the effects of trip characteristics and socio-demographic features of passengers. Our findings are based on 1645 responses collected through a bus passenger survey in the city of Edinburgh, UK. We find that access to URTPI is particularly related to the perceived length of the trips and age of the traveller. The most popular source of URTPI is bespoke apps providing information on bus arrival times, although nonresidents require more detailed information. The study paves the way for further investigations into the impact of information on passengers' choices.

Investigating the Impact of Public Transport Service Disruptions upon Passenger Travel Behaviour—Results from Krakow City

“…In terms of dissemination sources, a wide range of available sources are utilised to consult travel information. According to passenger surveys, the most popular source of information is electronic RTI displays at stops [5,13]-since they provide information relevant for current choice context, and their recurrently-updating nature is in itself reassuring [14]. Traditional sources of information (printed schedules), as well as interaction with staff (or the driver), with other travellers, or even relatives are also popular among travellers.…”

Bus passenger path choices after consulting ubiquitous real-time information

“…). An analysis of the survey data discussing the sample representativenes and the use of URTPI is presented in Islam et al (2019). The sample was found representative of Edinburgh bus passengers, hence no weighting is applied to the variables regarding demographics for model development.…”