Online and text next stage for bus services

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New online and text information services are being provided for Auckland bus users as an extension of electronic timetable signs already present at main bus stops.

The Auckland Regional Transport Authority has linked its multimillion-dollar "real-time" information service to the public transport website www.maxx.co.nz, so passengers can find out how long they will have to wait for their next bus before setting out from home or work.

They can also find out bus arrival times by texting the number for their nominated bus stop to 3666, although that will cost them 20c a call.

The new services will extend the reach of the transport authority's physical network, in which electronic signs have been installed at 389 bus stops throughout the region and information is relayed to 324 intersections to give buses head starts at traffic lights.

The authority has already linked 180 stops to its website, and plans to increase this to 300 by the end of next week and to 1000 by the end of next month. Although that will still be less than 20 per cent of the region's 5500 bus stops, the authority says they will be the busiest stops, used by 87 per cent of passengers.

Passengers must consult the website to identify their target bus stop on an online map, which will give them a number for each stop.

That number should be used for all bus timetable inquiries for the stop in question, whether on the website or by text.

Although the website already has a full list of bus timetables, the new system should save passengers time and effort by being easier to use when they are in a rush, and by providing information about actual rather than scheduled bus movements.

But some passengers may still prefer to rely on timetables, as the "real-time" system has yet to achieve 100 per cent accuracy.