MyTransport.SG app shows space availability on buses, improved arrival times
Commuters can enjoy enhanced bus arrival time features on LTA's MyTransport.SG smartphone application, starting from today, April 15, 2015. Graphic: LTA
SINGAPORE — A new feature on the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) MyTransport.SG smartphone application will allow commuters to check if there are seats available or if there is only standing room left on selected bus services.
The application has been updated to include bus loading information, where a coloured line underlining the bus arrival time would indicate space availability: A green line means there are seats available, a yellow line indicates standing space available and a red line indicates limited standing space.
The app has also been updated to show better real-time information. “Over the past year, LTA had been working with SBS Transit and SMRT to install and test a new centralised system that determines real-time bus locations, thereby providing potentially more accurate bus arrival information for more than 4,700 public buses over 360 routes,” said the LTA in a press release today (April 15).
Results from initial testing showed that the system has an overall accuracy of 80 per cent within a window of up to three minutes for bus arrival estimations. This is similar to the accuracy achieved by SMRT’s and SBS Transit’s current fleet management systems.
The LTA said it expects to improve accuracy as it fine-tunes the system, although factors like traffic conditions and GPS signal strengths can still affect bus operations.
With daily bus ridership hitting a new record every year for the past nine years — exceeding 3.75 million daily bus rides last year — the LTA noted that “commuters desire more meaningful and intuitive real-time information on buses”.
“LTA’s MyTransport.SG app enables commuters to make more informed travel decisions on the go as they can better manage waiting time and transfers. This is part of the Smart Nation initiative to empower commuters and improve the public transport experience,” said the authority.
The enhanced bus arrival information is also available to third-party app developers.
