Portsmouth bus stops to give real-time updates on when your bus will be arriving

After receiving £4m in funding from the government's Transforming Cities Fund, Portsmouth City Council will install 150 real-time information units in Portsmouth.

In Havant and Waterlooville, a further 40 units will be upgraded.

These units use the GPS location of buses to display a countdown estimated arrival time, while also showing the range of destinations available from those stops.

The screens will be installed at key interchange locations, such as Commercial Road and Cosham.

Councillor Lynne Stagg, Portsmouth City Council’s cabinet member for traffic and transport, said: ‘People have told us that having reliable, real time information on bus stop displays and via their smartphones makes them more likely to use buses.

‘We are working with our bus operators to make travelling by bus more convenient and providing real-time information is just one improvement we are making.

‘It is a big step in the right direction.’

Alongside the real-time information, QR codes have been added to around 600 bus stops around Portsmouth.

One scan from a smart phone will show commuters when their next bus is due at that particular stop.

In December, the new QR codes in Portsmouth were scanned more than 1,800 times, the council says.

In 2004, the city council unveiled a ‘bus portals’ scheme that was supposed to change the face of public transport in Portsmouth. However, the electronic timetable ended up costing taxpayers more than £4m – but never worked and was scrapped in 2008.