Perth travel group to roll out feature

Perth-based 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, planned for a Thursday, June 18 roll-out, will use extensive data and artificial intelligence to provide a traffic light indicator.

It will give an easy guide to quieter services on bus networks and, in turn, help customers to maintain social distancing following the coronavirus outbreak.

The“busy bus”tracker will provide a regularly updated guide to how busy individual bus services are in networks across the UK.

It is part of a comprehensive package of safety measures in place to help people travel in confidence as lockdown restrictions begin to ease.

Carla Stockton-Jones, interim managing director UK for Stagecoach, said:“We are pleased to be welcoming more people back onto our buses as things start to open up around the country.

“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.”

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’.

Customers can also see where their bus is on the map and when it will be arriving, providing all the information they need at their fingertips.

Stagecoach is continuing to increase capacity on bus services to support social distancing.

Strict cleaning regimes continue, which includes at least a daily clean of all buses with an anti-viral sanitiser.

Contactless payment is also available on all buses.

The latest UK government advice states that everybody travelling on public transport south of the border from June 15 must wear a face covering.

“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,”added Ms Stockton-Jones.

“Buses continue to play a vital role in connecting people with work and leisure facilities. At a time when people across the country are starting to be reunited with friends and family, this investment in new technology will help to ensure that people can be completely prepared and confident in using our services.”

The Stagecoach app is available on both the UK Bus iOS and Android platforms.