Never miss the bus again

We all know the problem. You get to the bus stop 5 minutes ahead of its due time, then find it's 10 minutes late, or worse still, it was early. A new invention, made by British company, Acis, may mean you never have to miss another bus again.

The system is installed in houses and uses GPS tracking to alert you to how close a bus is to your stop. An alarm goes off when it is getting near. It needn't be just buses. The little screens could give you railway updates, motorway traffic and weather reports. There are even plans to allow messages from the police and local government to be shown, although these can be turned off.

The screens have already been installed in 90 homes in Dartford, Kent and 5,000 homes in Bedfordshire will soon have the system, too. As part of the Government's push to get people to use public transport, construction companies need to show they have green travel plans in order to get permission to build new houses.
 
The new computer system
The computer map shows the number of the bus and exactly where they are

This is where the Acis Fastrack steps into the spotlight. Residents in Dartford have already agreed that the system has meant they use the bus service more and their cars less. Planners believe the technology will help to develop community spirit. As people use buses more often, they will meet the neighbours they are often cocooned away from in a car.

Although the screen costs nearly £2,000 to supply and intall, residents may soon be sending their own messages advertising local fetes and barbecues.

contents