Real-time travel information for public transport: societal benefits and division of roles

If public transport passengers receive better information about travel delays, they are able to adapt their travel plans and shorten their travel times. In financial terms, the savings generated from shorter travel times in The Netherlands accounts for a few million to tens of millions of euro per year. Moreover, customer satisfaction increases: if public transport passengers receive proper information about their travel situation, they perceive waiting times to be shorter.

This is a key conclusion of a study of social benefits of real-time travel information for public transport, which the KiM Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis (KiM) conducted on behalf of the Directorate-General Mobility of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. This study also examined the question of how best to organize real-time travel information for public transport. It is vital that public transport companies be obliged to give market operators the information they need to provide relevant travel information. At present the government has given public transport companies the responsibility of maintaining a national public transport database, which is in line with successful international examples of information services. Given the prospects of public transport companies and other market operators, a governmental database would offer little added value.