UK Bus Open Data Service goes live

UK Buses Minister, Baroness Charlotte Vere, has announced the official launch of the Bus Open Data Service, which aims to standardise and openly publish information from operators, enabling bus users to plan routes, understand costs in advance and predict bus arrival times more efficiently.

“We know the value of our buses – responsible for around 12 million trips a day, they take us on the everyday journeys that make up our lives. But we want to create a golden age for our buses, and we can only do this if passengers find them easy to use and understand how much journeys will cost.

“This pioneering project will bring transparency to passengers, boosting bus use and helping the sector thrive – just one example of how government is harnessing technology to make journeys across the UK greener, easier, safer and more reliable,” she said.

The Bus Open Data Service will be followed by new regulations which will mean bus operators are legally required to provide timetable data by the end of 2020 and fare, ticket and location data by 2021. The new regulations hope to provide a better deal for bus passengers – providing live location data which aims to boost passenger confidence and provide greater transparency across different operators which will help to keep fares down, encouraging more people to choose buses by making them easier to use than ever before.

Barry White, CEO at Transport for the North, commented: “We welcome the launch of the Department for Transport’s Bus Open Data’s Digital Service as a watershed moment in the industry’s collective efforts to transform the provision of information for bus users and other public transport passengers.”