01-02-08 New bus registration system to improve real-time information for passengers
A new Electronic Bus Service Registration (EBSR) system that will mean faster and more accurate travel information for bus users was launched yesterday by Secretary of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly.
EBSR enables bus operators to submit bus service registration applications to Traffic Commissioners online, rather than via the current paper-based approach, which saves time and reduces data inconsistencies.
The new online service will not only transform the way bus service route and timetable data is passed between bus operators, VOSA and transport authorities, it will also improve the data collection for services such as Traveline, Transport Direct or other online providers that members of the public use to plan their journeys. EBSR will ensure that websites such as Transport Direct and Traveline are giving the most precise information possible. This means that passengers can access timely and relevant timetable information on paper, by text message and online.
Ruth Kelly said:
I'm pleased to be launching the Electronic Bus Service Registration system and congratulate all those who have worked on this complex project from its initial design through to its successful pilot.
I hope every operator will participate so that bus passengers will benefit from greater timetable accuracy through services such as Transport Direct and Traveline. Having more reliable information will also help persuade more people to use our buses and promote sustainable travel.
Robert Montgomery, Service Performance Director for Stagecoach UK Bus, said:
“The new electronic data system will ensure we deliver faster and more accurate information to our customers, whether they access it at a bus stop, via the internet or on their mobile phone.”
Mike Cooper, managing director of Arriva's UK Regions, added:
“Information technology can play a key role in fulfilling the industry’s aspiration to increase bus passenger usage and will contribute towards shaping the future of bus travel. Arriva has played an active role throughout much of the pioneering development of TransXChange and we look forward to supporting the roll-out of the project”.
Notes to Editors
Ruth Kelly was speaking at the Annual Dinner of the Confederation of Passenger Transport.
The EBSR system is a partnership between the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and Transport Direct, with assistance from operators Arriva and Stagecoach who tested the pilot system.
All of the details that would normally be in a paper-based registration will be contained in a standard (TransXChange XML) file. The route and stopping places will be described and the timetable (with all its variations) will be included, as well as a map of the route.
Responsibility for creating bus service registration data will remain, as now, with the service operator.
For media enquiries about VOSA, please contact: Luke Bigwood on 0117 954 3208 or Zita Easton on 0117 954 2561. You can also e-mail press@vosa.gov.uk
Page last updated: 01/02/2008