Dublin Bus should provide a proper display of real-time data about departure and arrival times at bus stops around the capital, the Labour TD for Dublin South Central, Dr Mary Upton, said yesterday.
"On the Continent and in the United States it is common for bus stops in major cities to contain digital displays with information about bus arrival times. These are common features in cities such as London and Paris, but for some reason have yet to be pioneered in Dublin.
"Indeed, you only have to go 100 miles up the road to Belfast to find such displays at major bus stops."
Dr Upton added that the public were often left frustrated at bus stops as they simply did not know when the next bus would arrive.
"The information currently supplied at stops only details definitive departure times from the terminus and estimates of when a bus is scheduled to arrive. It cannot take account of the traffic conditions on that day.
"Real-time displays, however, allow the public to know precisely when the bus will arrive and will encourage more people to remain at the stop even if the bus is not currently approaching."
Dr Upton said this mechanism currently operated on Dart and Luas lines and there was no reason why it could not be used on major bus routes in Dublin.
"The provision of this service was one of the recommendations in Labour's recent policy document, Getting Dublin Moving. It is a simple and effective way of developing an improved service to passengers and taking traffic off our roads," she said.
