New ‘busy bus’ smartphone app from Stagecoach
Stagecoach is launching a new smartphone ‘busy bus’ indicator to help customers plan their journeys as services increase across the country.
The new feature on the Stagecoach bus app will use data and artificial intelligence to provide a traffic light indicator to help customers choose quieter services and maintain social distancing.
The app is being rolled out to iOS and android users via the app store and Google Play platforms. The ‘busy bus’ tracker will provide a regularly updated guide to how busy individual bus services are in networks across the UK.
Each service in the live map on the app will be colour coded, with quieter buses showing in a green bus icon indicating ‘not too busy’, through to amber ‘quite busy’ and dark amber ‘very busy’.
Stagecoach claims its app already has the UK’s most advanced real-time bus tracker and this latest development is designed to help people to confidently and easily plan when they want to travel.
Carla Stockton-Jones, interim managing director UK for Stagecoach, says: “We are pleased to be welcoming more people back onto our buses as things start to open up around the country.
“We have already put a range of extra measures in place to make sure our customers feel confident in using our services, including strict cleaning regimes and social distancing measures, which we know are the biggest priorities for travellers. The launch of our new busy bus indicator is an extra step to give people an easy, at a glance guide on the best times to travel and to plan their journeys to avoid busier times.”