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Old August 2nd 03, 05:59 PM posted to uk.transport.london
Richard Jeeves Richard Jeeves is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Aug 2003
Posts: 6
Default london bus arrival time estimations (the digital thing at the bus stands)

The system is called Countdown. It mainly works through a system called AVL
(Automatic Vehicle Location). This system uses transponders on the bus that
communicate with beacons stuck to lampposts along the route (little grey
boxes). This data gets sent to the home garage and then to the bus stops.
The arrival time is then worked out by comparing this data to the timetable.
I have heard rumours that this will be replaced by a GPS based system soon.

"john" wrote in message
...
Can anyone tell me how the digital displays at some London bus stops work?
The ones that estimate how long the next bus will take to get there? What
kind of connection are they maintaining with the bus etc? I'm very curious
how it works, I haven't seen that before.

any info appreciated,
John.