Wi-Fi Improvements and bus audio-visual

Project description

This project delivered five inter-linked measures that improve the attractiveness of public transport which will benefit all of the Growth towns and two step-up towns. These were to:

• Equip Stagecoach buses in the Basingstoke, Aldershot, Farnborough, Whitehill and Bordon, Alton, Ringwood, Petersfield, Winchester areas with on-board free Wi-Fi, to enable bus passengers to make full productive use of travel time.
• To similarly equip these buses with on bus audio-visual (A-V) next stop announcements, to give confidence to occasional or infrequent bus travellers as to where to alight.
• Equip five rail stations – Basingstoke, Aldershot, Farnborough, Guildford and Woking, with free Wi-Fi to enable Rail passengers to make full productive use of travel time.
• Install Wi-Fi at Andover Bus Station.
• Provision of real time information displays at Winchester Bus Station. This was supported by Stagecoach South installing new ticket machines to their fleet equipped with automatic vehicle tracking.

Project output

This provision for the new equipment on buses improves the quality of public transport, which will encourage more people to use local bus services to access town centres. It will also encourage modal shift from the car by allowing people to make productive use of their travel time. By improving the quality of bus and rail services, this makes non-bus/train users more confident about using the bus or train to commute to work instead of by car. The security of AV next stop announcements helps ‘new’ bus users know where to alight. This growth in demand for travel could result in public transport operators running more frequent services, and needing to employ more staff including drivers and train crews. Businesses can also have access to a wider pool of skilled labour, which will support those with expansion plans. The Wi-Fi Improvements at stations again improve the quality of public transport as well as improving the waiting time experience at rail stations. Whether this is for busy commuters wanting to see and plan their onward journeys using the internet or allowing people relaxing at the station to catch up on the latest news, emails and social media, this service enhances quality of the rail experience. It also help travellers get online in busy places where the 3G network is often unreliable or slow because of high demand.