BUS users in Sydney can track how far away their next bus is with the release of new real time bus smartphone apps.
NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian today said that customers wanted real time public transport information and the three new apps were the start of government plans to provide it.
"With these apps customers will be able to plan ahead not just by looking at the timetable, but see where buses are on their route and how far away they are," she said in a statement.
Ms Berejiklian said the apps would make it easy for bus users to find the nearest bus stop, where to buy a ticket, and when buses would arrive based on GPS tracking.
"Some of the apps will alert customers to the next bus arriving at the most convenient stop, give an estimated walk time, guide them directly to the street location, provide real-time alerts, live maps, and comparisons of similar transport options by cost, convenience and emissions," she said.
The real time information will initially be available in the Sydney CBD, the eastern suburbs, the inner west, southern suburbs, northwestern suburbs, the northern beaches and lower North Shore.
The first three apps including real time bus information are TripView, TripGo and Arrivo Sydney.
The apps contain real-time data spanning some 8200 stops, more than 1900 buses and almost 1200 routes across the Sydney Bus Network.
The apps are part of a major mobile device push by the NSW government which last week released an app that lets motorists pay their registration with their smartphone.
The Victorian Government already has released an app that lets Melbourne commuters track the positions of the city's trams.
