Available as a smartphone app or website or a combination of both, a package available from Find My Bus Ltd gives operators the ability to offer live tracking, enabling customers to follow their bus on a map and removing the uncertainty of waiting at a stop hoping the bus will arrive on time. The package also offers timetables, bus stop, route, ticket and fare information as well as service news the ability to alert customers to service disruption using ‘push’ notifications.
To bring the costs within reach of smaller operators and assist with cash flow, the package is offered on a subscription basis with companies paying a modest monthly fee with no initial set-up costs.
First customer to use the new technology is Wellglade-owned TM Travel. Customers can now track their buses in real time, check bus times and receive information about service updates through their smartphones. The iPhone app is already available with Android and mobile web solutions soon to follow.
Hampshire-based Xelabus Ltd is also an early user of the Find My Bus package, with a new-look website enhancing its online information offering.
Find My Bus Ltd was founded in 2013 by Managing Director Joel Kidd and TM Travel General Manager Phil Stockley, for the purpose of creating affordable app and web solutions for small and medium-sized operators. Joel is an experienced web developer based in Hampshire.
Joel said: “Until now, powerful apps and live service information have been the preserve of larger operators with big marketing budgets. Our highly automated service, combining scheduled timetable data with vehicle position data from ticket machines, allows operators of all sizes to provide up-to-the-minute information to their customers while requiring minimal staff time. Our monthly affordable subscription model, with no set-up fees, helps to keep costs down while helping with cash flow.”
