1. Topic of the practice -  Significant upgrade to bus services in Reading through the implementation of the Premier Route network. This was a holistic approach including a complete route by route rebranding of bus services, the introduction of higher capacity, fully accessible vehicles on the most popular routes, a commitment to only making major changes to the bus network once a year, provision of new and addition bus shelters and accessible kerbing to complement the low floor buses. In addition, the provision of Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) displays at stops and on buses from 2002 and the provision of contactless smartcard ticketing from 2004 combined to form a comprehensive package of improvements. The Premier Route network includes over 100 buses and 350 bus stops covering the ten major bus corridors in Reading. The core elements of the network were implemented between 2004 and 2008.
2. Location of the practice –  Reading, United Kingdom
3. Start date of the practice- 2002 
4. Description of the practice-  Reading is a unitary authority and one of the most significant major population and employment centres in the South East of England.  Reading benefits from its close proximity to London and Heathrow Airport and the urban area is at the centre of the largest travel to work area in the Thames Valley.  Over 20 million bus trips are made throughout Reading every year and the Borough has one of the highest levels of bus trips per capita in the UK outside of London. In 2002 Reading Borough Council made a public commitment, in a new document called ‘Horizons – A New Vision for Transport in Reading’, to provide a significantly improved public transport system for Reading, following a consultation with residents to understand their main concerns with the existing bus provision in Reading. This led to the development of the Premier Route network concept, which was implemented throughout the Reading urban area, predominantly between 2004 and 2008.  The objectives of the Premier Route network were to improve bus service reliability, increased capacity and frequency, timetable stability, improved passenger facilities and information. Key elements of the Premier Route network included a complete rebranding of bus services in Reading, the introduction of higher capacity, fully accessible vehicles on the most popular routes, a commitment to only making major changes to the bus network once a year, provision of new and addition bus shelters, accessible kerbing to complement the low floor buses and provision of Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) displays at stops and on buses. In addition, the introduction of smart ticketing for local services in 2004, and its subsequent upgrade to ITSO compatibility in 2010, delivered substantial improvements to passengers alongside the core package of Premier Route improvements. Development of the Premier Route network has been led by Reading Borough Council, working in partnership with Reading Buses (the operator of over 80% of bus services in the Reading urban area). The network was also implemented in cooperation with neighboring authorities, Wokingham Borough Council and West Berkshire Council, and other local bus operators to ensure the benefits of the Premier Route network have been delivered throughout the Reading urban area. The Premier Route network includes over 100 branded buses and over 350 bus stops covering the ten major bus corridors in Reading.  The RTPI system includes over 200 display screens at stops throughout the network.
5. Evidence of success -  Overall the expected benefits from the Premier Route network have been realised, including benefits relating to improvements to bus journey times, punctuality, reliability and passenger satisfaction.
6. Contact details to obtain further information -   Stephen Wise, Senior Transport Planner, Reading Borough Council.

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1. Topic of the practice -  Interactive complex solutions services for railway passengers are implemented on the base of infrastructure and IT solutions. Services are intended for multi-purpose auditorium and consider the basic requests of passengers in Latvia. To satisfy the needs of passengers the interactive information systems have been created. These systems allow passengers to manage and plan the trip, needed resources, and to determine the level of comfort in their travels. Using interactive IS, passengers can in real time determine the schedule of the train and find the main indexes of the route, such as duration and distance of the route, tickets prices, discounts, etc. For the convenience of purchasing tickets the multi-alternative solutions are offered, among them: buying tickets via Internet and mobile phone (SMS). To increase the level of comfort and security the additional important functions are offered, such as seats reservation in the wagons, usage of  wireless Internet, carriage the bulky luggage (such as bicycles), as well as usage of special equipment for passengers with special needs.
2. Location of the practice –  Latvia
3. Start date of the practice-   1999
4. Description of the practice-  November 24, 2009: the joint-stock company “Pasažieru vilciens” (in English “Passenger Train”) received an international certificate of quality management system ISO 9001:2008, which confirms that the control system meets the requirements of the enterprise. The Quality Management System of the Information Technology Center (ITC) of the joint-stock company  “Latvijas dzelzceļš” (in English “Latvian Railway”) was re-certified in 2010 (the ISO 9001:2008 is valid from 23 July 2010 to 22 July 2013).
5. Evidence of success -  The company “Pasažieru vilciens”, after separation from the company “Latvijas dzelzceļš”, rationalizes government resources, but for a small turnover of passengers can not reach the level of profitable.
6. Contact details to obtain further information -   Latvian Railway, Vasilijs Demidovs, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; Passenger Train, Head of Passenger Transportation Department , Māris Tračums, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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1. Topic of the practice -  In 2004, the Prague Public Transport Co. Ltd. (Prague Integrated Transport, PIT; Pražská integrovaná doprava, PID), which is responsible for operation of public transport in Prague, joined the CONNECT project. The main goal was to enhance quality of provided information and ensure availability of the information for the blind and visually handicapped while using the public transport. The programme followed the first attempts for development of information systems on the stops and already well-established standard of installations of receivers for the blind and visually handicapped in PIT vehicles and also development of information kiosks.
2. Location of the practice –  Prague, Czech Republic
3. Start date of the practice-   2004
4. Description of the practice-  A pilot project has been realized in Prague and its neighbouring areas of interest operated by ROPID company (Regional Organiser of Prague Integrated Transport). The project was planned in three phases, the first of which started in 2004 and the third one finished in 2009.
5. Evidence of success -  Currently, more than 250 vehicles have been equipped with the system in a particular area and further development regarding display tables in compliance with new technologies and their availability has been running. A great effort was put into interface accessibility of the whole system during its designing. Special emphasis was laid on information system for visually handicapped travelers, which was designed and installed according to existing European standards and regulations.
6. Contact details to obtain further information -   CDV: Zuzana Švédová, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ROPID: Jan Šimůnek, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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1. Topic of the practice -  Europe’s best multimodal planner 2012 in the EU’s First Smart Mobility Challenge competition, awarded by ERTICO (for Internet links see Bibliography). IDOS is a door-to-door journey planner for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It also provides other cross-border travel connections around Europe by bus and train. Traveller multimodal public transport information, planning and payment system available in platforms for: 1) personal computers and networks, 2) PDA and smartphones, 3) Internet, 4) mobile phones (SMS, call centres).
2. Location of the practice –  Czech Republic 
3. Start date of the practice-   1993
4. Description of the practice-  One of the most web sites being visited in our country, recommended to be followed/to share knowledge and experience.  Easy orientation, user friendly applications. Users from children to seniors.  The application at http://www.idos.cz allows searching for train, bus, air and public transport connections or combinations of train, bus and public transportation timetables. For selected train routes, it is possible to reserve a seat, sleeper seat or bed in advance, purchase a ticket, or locate the train (delay). For selected bus routes, it is possible to purchase a ticket or a seat reservation. IDOS for internet is composed of two layers: layer of an independent search engine and presentation layer. This solution allows the use of the same search algorithm on different platforms (e.g. search engine is used by almost all on-line applications for smart phones - see IDOS for PDA and Smartphone). One of the most famous uses of the search engine is the above application at http://www.idos.cz, its map version at http://mapy.idos.cz or the version for mobile phones without operating system on address http://m.idos.cz/. Another application that uses the search engine is http://vykony.idos.cz, which allows to evaluate the distance traveled and the number of connections in the timetables (fully replaced the previously supplied product Dotace). At the present time an application in the real time is under construction, and will be available soon in test version.
5. Evidence of success -  The main benefits of the PT policy was that CIS JŘ is unique policy, that facilitates the development of the real time information system. The current benefits are known it is the first place to achieve IDOS as a multimodal planer.
6. Contact details to obtain further information -    CHAPS Ltd. - Person in charge: Tomáš Chlebničan, COO and development manager, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; Pilot project JSDV: CHAPS and CDV - CDV person in charge: Marek Ščerba, project manager, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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1. Topic of the practice -  Bern is the city where more than one operators are in a service of passengers . Bernmobil is city operator, conducting the transport mainly by trams, but some lines, like connection with airport, use buses. Postbus Bern is operator, covering its lines bigger part of Swizerland, where Bern is one of the transfer centres. Postbus offers the service for commuters living in suburban areas or passenger travelling on longer distances. RBS is the local and city trains and operator, managing, among the others, the lines of Bern S-bahn. MOOLINER is the option for night transport in Bern and towns around. Consolidation of information from 4 different operators was aim of the Glue Software Engineering AG, which have taken on the task of joint information system for local commuters preparation. This way MEZI (Mobile real-time information system) was created and four different companies, supplying transport services to commuters, have been connected with one real time passenger information system.
2. Location of the practice –  Bern, Switzerland
3. Start date of the practice-   2009
4. Description of the practice-  The MEZI supplies the timetable for the mobile phones information in real-time (RT) on the lines of BERNMOBIL, Postbus Bern, RBS and MOONLINER. Some applications apart from timetable offers geopositioning and directions to the nearest city transport stop or station. The newest version of MEZI offers even some augmented reality solutions.
   
   The solution was developed and implemented together with the Bernese software engineering company Glue Software Engineering AG. Originally the application was available for both Java-enabled mobile phones as well as iPhones. Mobile is the time table for the entire route network of BERNMOBIL, for most PostBus routes in Greater Bern and the bus routes available from RBS (Since 2012 also the Regional Trains of RBS are covered).
   
   
5. Evidence of success -  The objectives achieved by real-time information service:

• customer information with place, time and actual situation along the travel chain;
• automated processing  and coverage with stable quality;
• marketing tool - new forms of dialogue;
• increases customer satisfaction (expected, not researched).

6. Contact details to obtain further information -   GLUE Software Engineering AG, Mr. Stefan Luder, Dipl El. ETH, Certified,  Marketing Manager, Marketing & Sales E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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1. Topic of the practice -  Although priority is granted to public transport in Aalborg, delays do still occur and passengers still miss their connections. Uncertainty about departure times and possible problems in reliability prior to and on public transport trips are some of the barriers that can discourage potential passengers from using Public Transport. On-board information on delays and connections, and access to the same kind on information prior to entering the bus (via mobile phones ARCHIMEDES measure 68) is expected to lower these barriers and give the traveller “peace of mind”. Another benefit is that the system contributes to improving the image of public transport and thus helps public transport to appear as an attractive alternative. In this measure, on-board information screens have been implemented on 100 city buses at Nordjyllands Trafikselskab (NT - Public Transport Authority of North Denmark).
2. Location of the practice – Aalborg, Denmark
3. Start date of the practice-   2008
4. Description of the practice-  Information on the current journey (e.g. up-coming bus stops and overall destination) as well as information on connections and traffic information as changes in routes or cancellations will be shown. The information on the flat screens is based on NT’s Real Time Passenger Information system (RTPI). The screens show information on the current trip as the destination for the trip and the three upcoming bus stops. News, weather forecasts and advertisements are shown in between as well as simultaneously with public transport information. In addition transfers and connection information will be shown in the next phase. Of the 100 city buses, 50 buses operating in the CIVITAS corridor are financed with the support of ARCHIMEDES, whereas the remaining 50 city buses are financed by NT. The ARCHIMEDES project contributes to the purchase and installation of flat screens as well as the upgrading of the bus computer system to handle data for the flat screens.
5. Evidence of success -  After the pilot project, experiences with the user interface and the passengers’ acceptance were collected with the help of a questionnaire that was conducted in November 2009 to which 368 people responded. The respondents showed a very positive attitude towards the information screens. Key results from this survey were as follow:
• 88% of the respondents liked the information screens;
• 87% of the respondents found it positive that news and advertisement were shown as a supplemental to the traffic information;
• 91% supported the method of providing traffic information on screens in buses;
• 90% thought that the information screens were a service improvement;
• Only 15% prefer announcements of the next bus stop via loudspeakers instead of the screens. (40% would prefer the information both via screen and loudspeakers, whereas 50% would like only to have the screen information).
6. Contact details to obtain further information -  Lars Elgaard Thomsen, Public Transport Authority of North Denmark, It Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

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1. Topic of the practice -  Intermodal infomobility platform and SMS ticketing. In Genova, the Mobility Agency promotes SMS ticketing system that together with the intermodal infomobility platform are the two interesting measures for that city.
2. Location of the practice -  Genova, Italy
3. Start date of the practice-  2007
4. Description of the practice-  Genova City is located between the sea and the mountains, with a long and narrow coastline. The city centre covers just 28 sqkm, with a population density of around 10 inhabitants per sqkm. In terms of accessibility, Genoa has a very difficult street layout due to lack of space and the absence of alternative routes. Nevertheless, the seaport is one of the most important seaports in Italy. There are 138 bus lines and 2.500 bus stops to offer a dense possibility of exchanges and more effective options.
5. Evidence of success -  All the measures took place in Genova permitted to the citizen a better approach to the PT.
6. Contact details to obtain further information -  Province of Ferrara

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1. Topic of the practice - TfL have opened up their public transport data sources to the public. This has enabled 3^rd party mobile application developers to use the data to provide a variety of real time traveller information apps (iphone, android, blackberry, mobile windows) for the bus, rail and underground services in London.
2. Location of the practice -  London/ UK
3. Start date of the practice-  2008
4. Description of the practice- As present there are 41 users receiving a live stream of the data direct from TfL’s servers, and there are around 35 popular mobile apps developed by third parties using these data streams which are being downloaded by the public. Within this process there are intermediary developers who are taking the raw data from TfL, further processing it, and then selling it on to the app developers. London has long had a real time passenger information system at bus stops however this was comprehensively upgraded between 2007 to 2009 when ‘iBus’ was fitted on London’s 8,000 buses. This upgrade included implementing a GPS (Global Positioning System) to track the buses, on bus audio visual outputs, priority at traffic signals and improved bus arrivals information. In October 2011 TfL updated their website to include this live ‘Countdown’ bus information and they also launched a mobile app.

The information includes actual predicted arrival time for each bus at each of the 19,000 bus stops and not just the approximate 2,500 with real time information signs. In addition TfL are publishing a range of data including real time London Underground data.

5. Evidence of success - The main policy was based around the delivery of the TfL website and TfL app and hence the extensive demand from the app developers exceeded this expectation. This has meant that there is a far wider choice for travelers to access TfL data at no additional cost to TfL which is a significant benefit. The risk of opening up data to 3^rd parties which may then use it in a negative way with regards to the delivery of London Bus services has not been realised to date.
6. Contact details to obtain further information -  Through Simon Beasley at Reading Borough Council 

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1. Topic of the practice - State of the art real time passenger information system which distributes up to the minute bus information between tracked buses and on-street displays in the Greater Bristol area. Information is also delivered to travel information websites and mobile phones.

In addition to passenger information, the system provides intelligent bus priority at signal junctions to give late running buses priority, via a link between the real time information and urban traffic control systems, helping to reduce journey times and ensure buses keep to timetable.

2. Location of the practice -  Greater Bristol/ UK
3. Start date of the practice- 1997
4. Description of the practice-  The RTI system was first implemented for the Greater Bristol area in 1997 and has been significantly upgraded and expanded in subsequent years.  The system comprises on-bus Global Position System (GPS) equipment which communicates via a radio base station with a central system server.  The equipment is linked to the bus ticket machine to enable the predicted arrival time at each stop on that vehicle’s route to be generated, which is then sent to the bus stop displays to provide a countdown in minutes to the predicted arrival time.  This information is also sent to local travel information websites to provide the same information for a selected stop (whether or not it has an on-street display) so long as the route is operated by equipped buses. The system allows Bristol’s Urban Traffic Control (UTC) centre and bus operator’s depots to monitor the location of all equipped vehicles and to identify early and late running services.  Other features of the system include the operator’s voice radio system and the ability to send an emergency alert from the bus driver to the depot. The RTI system also includes the provision of intelligent bus priority at traffic lights, via a link to Bristol’s UTC systems.  This function helps to reduce journey times and ensure buses keep to the timetable by providing late running vehicles with priority at signal controlled junctions.  The system works by the bus sending an identifying message to the signals on its approach, which the UTC system will then process and adjust the signal phasing accordingly.  The system can be set to give different levels of priority, for instance to all buses or just to those operating behind schedule.  It is currently set up to provide priority to all equipped buses that are running late by 3 minutes or more.  The signal phasing can be adjusted by the UTC system to either extend a green phase to allow a bus in a queue to progress through the junction, or to adjust the phasing of the lights to provide a green light to the arm with a late running bus sooner than would happen under the normal cycle.  To operate correctly it is essential that the data relating to the timetable, route, bus stop allocation and the location of all stops served is correct within the RTI system.
5. Evidence of success - Overall the expected benefits from the RTI and bus priority system have been realised including benefits relating to improvements to bus journey times, punctuality, reliability and passenger satisfaction.
6. Contact details to obtain further information - Simon Beasley, Network Manager, Reading Borough Council

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1. Topic of the practice - Although significant emphasis is put on securing quality of public transport in Aalborg, delays do still occur, and sometimes passengers report feeling uncertain if the bus is delayed, or if they themselves arrive too late at the bus stop. Uncertainty about planned and actual departure times and the location of bus stops are some of the barriers that discourage potential passengers from using public transport.
   
   The availability of Real Time Passenger Information prior to getting on a bus and on board information (via screens. At the same time the systems contribute to improving the image of public transport as a modern means of transport and thereby helping public transport to appear as an attractive alternative to car use. In this measure, a mobile portal for public transport has been developed, including a set of Location Based Services (LBS) for mobile phones (based on the mobile phone’ GPS).
2. Location of the practice -  Aalborg/ Denmark
3. Start date of the practice-  2010
4. Description of the practice- The LBS includes Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) from 30 nearest bus stops selected from the present GPS position, and a ‘Take Me Home’ service that gives the user a combined walking and PT trip from their present GPS position to your predefined Home address. It achieves this by integrating the GPS position, and saved user information, with the national Journey Planner.

The complete IT infrastructure for delivering RTPI including busPc and back offices system with prognoses algorithms in Aalborg were planned as part of EU project VIKING and implemented during the CIVITAS I VIVALDI project.

As part of the VIVALDI project, RTPI was implemented on 40 variable message signs (VMS) at major bus stops in Aalborg. The information has proved to be of great benefit for public transport users and as a consequence is helping to maintain uptake of public transport, although it does only cover the most important bus stop in Aalborg. Equipping bus stops with VMS is very expensive and is therefore only possible for major stops with a high customer flow. But in Denmark, almost everyone aged over 8 carries a mobile phone. So by using these mobile phones as VMS for RTPI, the information is spread to all people and all bus stops; the investment is taken up by the users and the technology is always kept up-to-date. As a consequence of this, a mobile service was implemented as part of the EU MIDAS project. This service was menu based prompting the user to choose in a three level menubefore the RTPI were presented. In this way, it was possible to get round the two problems of the customer not knowing the precise name of the bus stop, and the difficulties of keying long names on a mobile phone.

As an even better solution it is now possible to skip the menus and present the user for RTPI based on the users GPS position. As a parallel, an interface to the national Journey Planner have been develop, where keying in is substituted by either GPS positions or predefined locations. The approach used in ARCHIMEDES provides information in a convenient manner that is expected to increase user satisfaction among present users and potentially attract new users to public transport including tourists unfamiliar with the public transport system, thereby expanding the market for public transport.

The measure introduces three different new public transport mobile phone features. The first feature is “NTmobil.dk”, which is a mobile phone platform integrating different PT mobile services. The second feature is a Location Based Service that provides RTPI via mobile phone on the nearest bus stops, based on GPS. The third feature is the “Take Me Home” feature based on GPS data, that saves user data and the National Journey Planner provides the user with public transport information.

5. Evidence of success - More than 3.000 people have downloaded the JAVA application. Aalborg has following expects from this measure: increased levels of satisfaction among public transport users and an increase in public transport usage.
6. Contact details to obtain further information - Lars Elgaard Thomsen, Public Transport Authority of North Denmark, It Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

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