Bus firms will have to tell fed-up passengers how late they are
BUS companies will be forced to declare how late they are in real time to appease fed-up passengers, under Government plans to be announced today.
Buses Minister Nusrat Ghani said the move was designed to get more people using public transport.
It came as Jeremy Corbyn attacked Theresa May over buses at PMQs accusing her of “failure on yet another public service”.
The Department for Transport idea would see a website set up similar to National Rail Enquiries which lets passengers see details of live train times and routes across all timetables.
Sharing of bus data is mostly limited to cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester on apps like Citymapper.
The DfT is also considering requiring operators to provide audio and visual information on buses to assist disabled and elderly passengers.
Buses minister Nusrat Ghani said: “Nobody enjoys waiting at a bus stop for 20 minutes not knowing when the next bus is going to turn up, only for two to then pull up at the same time.
“By requiring bus operators to share their data, we can make sure that passengers have the information they need to catch the bus with ease, equipped with the right information about the time and cost.
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“This move will also open up opportunities for innovation within the industry, support local services where demand is falling and help increase bus usage across the country.”
A consultation on the measures will be launched on Thursday.
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