A rural real-time passenger information ecosystem

Abstract

Real time passenger information (RTPI) is commonly available in urban areas for immediately before and during journeys; however, non-urban areas (e.g. suburban, rural, and remote areas) often have little or no access to it. One of the main challenges in providing RTPI in rural areas is the lack of infrastructure for obtaining real time vehicle location, and for providing information to passengers. In the Informed Rural Passenger Project, we attempt to address this problem through the use of passengers' smartphones. We have developed GetThere, a smartphone app that crowdsources travel information, including vehicle location, from the passengers. This information is then integrated using linked data principles with open data from various sources, and used by various web services to provide RTPI to travellers in rural areas. Initial evaluation of the GetThere system has been performed on urban, suburban, and rural bus routes in the North East of Scotland.