Digital tags at West Yorkshire bus stops help travellers access live bus times
Published on 27th Oct 2015
New smart city technology at bus stops across West Yorkshire will help travellers instantly access real-time information for each stop.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority is adding QR codes and NFC tags to more than 13,000 bus stop timetable displays across the region. When scanned with a smartphone or tablet these will direct users to a web page with live departure details, showing when the next buses will arrive at the stop.
If real-time information is not available, scheduled timetable information is shown instead.
A YouTube video released by the local authority demonstrates how easy the digital tags are to use.
Cards displaying the QR code and NFC tag for each bus stop can be found at the bottom, left-hand corner of the timetable case. By the start of November, 9,000 cards are planned to be in place at bus stops in the region.
“People have told us that having reliable, real-time information makes them more likely to use the bus and this work to install to over 13,000 bus stops is an important step in making that information available more simply,” explained Kirklees Councillor Eric Firth, deputy chairman of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee.
The project is being carried out as part of the local authority’s Smart Card and Information programme, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported.
Wakefield Council leader Peter Box, chairman of the combined authority, said that connecting travellers with live bus information in this way will help deliver economic growth through a good transport network for West Yorkshire and the Leeds City region.
“To generate a real northern powerhouse we need systems like this which can connect people with opportunities,” he added.
