Real Time Information at Bus Stops (RTI).
Bournemouth and Poole Councils, in partnership with Wilts & Dorset and Transdev Yellow Buses are improving information at bus stops. Many find conventional timetables difficult to read or simply cannot understand them. Making information about buses easier to understand by changing the way times are shown at stops improves the travelling experience.
Many residents and visitors will have seen electronic 'Real Time Information' or RTI at bus stops throughout our area but not know exactly how they work or what the display means.
What do the different lines on the display mean?
Bus number/destination and a 24 hour clock time eg 12.00 This is an electronic version of the bus timetable but specifically worked out for that stop. It gives the scheduled arrival time of the bus and should be taken as a guide. The bus in question does not have the equipment fitted yet to be 'tracked', if that bus is say delayed in traffic, then the display will not be able to indicate this and after its scheduled arrival time has passed the line for that bus will no longer appear on the display.
Bus Number/destination and a number then min eg 10 min. The bus is being tracked by the technology and the estimated time to it’s actual arrival is displayed which will count down in minutes until the bus arrives. When due is indicated the bus is less than a minute away, so be prepared to signal for the bus you want to stop. When the wording 'Delay' appears the system has re-calculated the arrival time due to traffic congestion or other reasons. When a wheelchair symbol appears alongside the service number an accessible vehicle has been identified.
A number of the display units are able to give an audible, sound announcement of the information displayed on the screen. This is of assistance to passengers with visual impairments. The announcement is activated by a special key fob. If you qualify and would like to receive one please supply contact details through the 'contact us' part of this website.
Bus Information to your Mobile Phone.
Signs have been put up at most bus stops in Bournemouth and Poole with a specific code, which is a series of letters of the alphabet. You then text to the number 84268. Your mobile will then get a message back with the times of the next three buses due back at this stop. The text message will be in a similar style to the ‘real time’ display at the stop you have chosen giving estimated arrival time in minutes if the bus is linked to the system. If the bus is not able to give real time information then the scheduled timetabled departures will be provided. Even if your stop doers not have a Real Time display box your mobile will still get details of the next three buses.
You can also receive information on a specific bus service. This may be useful if your usual stop is served by lots of routes and you are only interested in one. To do this add the bus service number after the letter specific code for that stop but leave a space between the end of the letter code and the service number. Then text this as above to the number 84268.
Save your usual stop code into your phone and you can get the information without even being at the stop, you can then continue doing something more interesting if you bus is a few minutes away! More information is available in both Wilts and Dorset and Transdev Yellow Buses timetables. Please note each text request does cost 25p plus standard network changes.
Over 60?
If you are over 60 or have qualifying disabilities you are entitled to a concessionary travel 'Connect Card' which enables you to travel on local buses for free off-peak (after 0930) - Differing arrangements exist for residents of Christchurch and rural Dorset.
- Popular Destinations
*Plain text is generally suitable for handheld devices (Mobile Phones, PDA's, etc).
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