Friday, April 24 2009
Transport planner and engineer JMP is advising on expanding the benefits of the real time passenger information system available to bus passengers in Aberdeen city to also include Aberdeenshire.
As well as examining the possible extension to encompass the shire, together with the required enhancement/upgrading of the existing city system, JMP has been instructed by Nestrans, the North East Scotland Regional Transport Partnership, to also consider the options for an entirely new system in the shire area.
A new system would give the opportunity to use the capabilities of the GPS-enabled electronic ticketing machines currently being installed on buses across both city and shire authorities.
Real time passenger information was introduced “on-street” in 1998 by Aberdeen City Council in partnership with First in Aberdeen and has subsequently been expanded to consist of 170 displays, principally on street, but also in a number of public buildings.
Aberdeen City is a relatively compact urban area of 186 sq km with a population of 209,000. In contrast Aberdeenshire is a diverse and essentially rural area of 6,313 sq km with a population of 239,000. Its rural nature is reflected in the fact that only five settlements exceed a population of 10,000.
JMP is also required to address any potential cross-boundary issues which may arise associated with existing or proposed real time passenger information systems in neighbouring authorities of Angus, Highland, Perth & Kinross and Moray.