First Bus will this week launch an update to its mobile app that will enable customers across the UK to live-track not only the location of their next bus but also its available capacity.
First Bus will be the first major bus operator to roll out live capacity tracking, in a move designed to help customers social distance on board its fleet.
Going live this week, the app update will show customers a bus icon on a map depicting the live location and available capacity of each vehicle in the vicinity.
The innovation has been made possible by First Bus’s new passenger counting functionality, announced at the end of May. Data from this system feeds directly to the First Bus app in real time.
The app update coincides with First Bus doubling the number of buses operating across England from Monday 01 June, with support from UK government. First Bus said it expects to be able to increase service levels across its networks in Scotland and Wales in coming weeks.
To further support social distancing, and in addition to passenger counting, seats on each bus are now clearly marked indicating where customers should sit.
First Bus said it will continue to encourage cashless payments, and use of the First Bus App to purchase mTickets, to reduce the need for contact between customers and drivers.
Giles Fearnley, managing director of First Bus, said: “We are really proud to have been able to fast-track this technology to ensure safe, informed travel during these difficult times. Our buses provide an essential service for our customers and we are doing all we can to support them.”
