Bustimes.org is a transportation information website created to take advantage of Bus Services Act 2017 requirement for bus operators in England to provide bus timetables, fares and vehicle locations in an open data format, which can be utilised by app and website developers.[2] This DfT service is called the Bus Open Data Service.
Type of site | Bus Timetable Website |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Founder(s) | Joshua Goodwin[1] |
| Current status | Live |
| Written in | Python 3.9+ |
The website also provides information on bus services in parts of the UK to which the Bus Services Act 2017 information requirement does not apply, as well as in Ireland.
Location data from operators such as Lothian Buses is supplied to the site via the Transport for Edinburgh Open Data system.[3]
The site uses data from AVL tracking to determine and transmit the geographic location of a vehicle, such as data from Ticketer machines and the iBus system, in order to display live bus positions on a map.[citation needed]
The site also uses data from the National Public Transport Gazetteer, and bus stop locations from NaPTAN.
The live tracking system was added in response to the Department for Transport stating that they wanted "to see more people taking the bus, and those who do take it to have the best possible experience."[4] with fares for companies operating the Passenger MyTrip system being added in 2022.[5] Vehicle details (such as liveries, registration plates and fleet numbers) are all added by individual contributors using the edit vehicle information section.[6]
Criticism
editThe website was criticised by Centrebus Group owner, Julian Peddle, as lacking authority, not being an "official website", and questioning if trust can be placed in its information[7] in an article in Buses Magazine about bus timetable information.
References
edit- ^ Sharman, Richard (24 September 2020). "Tracking the UK's bus network". Coach & Bus Week. p. 30.
- ^ "BusTimes.org – bus timetables, route maps and vehicle location in the West Midlands". West Midlands Bus Users. 21 February 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
- ^ "Data sources – bustimes.org". bustimes.org. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Bus open data policy". GOV.UK. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
- ^ "Passenger enables third parties to host operator ticket links". routeone. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
- ^ Data sources - Bustimes.org
- ^ Peddle, Julian (July 2022). "It's all online, isn't it?". Buses Magazine. Key Publishing. p. 17. Retrieved 28 June 2022.