London's bus-tracking system gets £116m update

Siemens steps in to sort system that commuters love to curse...

London Buses is to spend £116m on a new vehicle tracking and passenger information system that will replace its ageing 'countdown' electronic timetable service at bus stops in the capital.

The system aims to improve the tracking of London's rapidly expanding fleet of buses and provide more accurate information telling passengers when their next ride is due.

The contract for the new system has been awarded to Siemens following an 18-month procurement process by Transport for London (TfL).

The new bus radio, vehicle location and countdown system will be introduced by 2008 as part of TfL's £10bn five-year investment programme to modernise London's public transport system.

The existing countdown system was introduced in 1996 and uses a microwave-based network of 5,000 roadside and on-bus beacons to track the location of buses on route. This information is relayed to electronic displays at bus stops, which tell waiting passengers how many minutes before the next bus is due.

But that is complex and costly to maintain - and often inaccurate according to many frustrated bus passengers - and TfL has decided to opt for a GPS-based system to cope with the expansion of the London Bus fleet to 10,000 over the next few years.

New services to be covered by the Siemens contract include an overhaul of the information provided on the countdown signs at stops as well as real-time bus information for internet, phone and text users.

Both Siemens and TfL failed to respond to requests for comment.