Real-time information displays installed at Sydney Metro bus stops

Bus stops on the new Metro North West Line have been fitted with electronic bus stop signs that tell customers when their next service will arrive in real time.

The innovative signs, which use the same e-ink technology found in e-readers such as Kindles, can also be used to tell customers about changes to the network during major events, as well as unplanned disruption when there are significant incidents affecting the road network.

Transport for NSW first tested the digital signs on the temporary Station Link bus service that replaced trains between Epping and Chatswood before Sydney Metro opened on 26 May.

Transport for NSW, Coordinator General, Marg Prendergast said the screens proved extremely popular with Station Link customers catching the frequent, turn-up-and-go pink buses.

Prendergast said: “Our customers loved the real-time information displayed on bus stops across the Station Link routes. With Station Link wrapped up and Sydney Metro services now underway, we want to bring this level of customer service to other parts of Sydney’s northwest bus network. It’s been fantastic working with the local team at Mercury Innovation and their partner, Visionect to roll out these displays in the CBD, Sydney Airport, and Station Link network. This new stage of the partnership involves rolling out over 49 digital signs at bus stops located around Sydney Metro stations,”

Mercury Innovation Director, Enrique Esquivel said these signs will now benefit an even wider range of customers after helping hundreds of thousands of Station Link customers with real-time bus information. “The robust solar-powered, off-grid signs clocked up nearly 400,000 minutes of uninterrupted service across the life of the Station Link project withstanding everything the elements could throw at them throughout the hottest Sydney summer on record. It’s great to see them get a new lease of life”.