Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Shane Rattenbury, today officially launched NXTBUS – ACTION’s real time information online system at the opening of a new ACTION Information Centre at the City Bus Station.
“From today, ACTION passengers can access NXTBUS real time bus service information online,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“NXTBUS makes finding out when the next bus departs from your chosen location easier. Passengers can look up bus departure times by bus stop ID, route or location and get live results for the next 90 minutes.
“With Network 14 set to come in from 1 September bringing an increase in bus services, NXTBUS will provide a convenient tool for passengers to familiarise themselves with their new network.
“ACTION customers can access NXTBUS from the ACTION website or via its direct URL which is action.act.gov.au/NXTBUS. This real time passenger information can now be accessed from mobiles phones, laptops, tablets or computers.
“While ACTION has conducted extensive testing prior to the live launch, they are encouraging passengers to provide feedback as to how the system is working in order to make any improvements in the initial weeks.
“Feedback can be provided through a form on the ‘Contact Us’ tab on the ACTION website (www.action.act.gov.au) or by calling 13 17 10. If real time information is unavailable the system will still provide passengers with timetable information to help them plan and carry out their journey.
“Users can expect to see enhancements to the NXTBUS webpage over the coming months, including bike rack and wheelchair notifications, a subscription service and more.
“Starting tomorrow, expressions of interest for the NXTBUS data feed can be made via the ACTION website, which will enable App developers to start work to develop their own NXTBUS Apps.
“As part of a wide range of ongoing improvements to public transport in the ACT, a new ACTION Information Centre was opened today that provides a space for the public to access the latest ACTION information including timetables, news and service updates.
“While passengers can still get bus information from all recharge agents, Canberra Connect Shopfronts and ACT public libraries, this space gives ACTION customers a convenient place to quickly access the latest bus information via the large screen and self serve kiosk.”
Mr Rattenbury was also the first person to officially use one of the new ACTION self serve kiosks. The kiosk in the City Information Centre is one of four that have been installed in the ACT, with three others located at the Woden and Tuggeranong bus stations as well as inside Westfield Belconnen (near Max Brenner).
“The ACTION Information Centre, self service kiosks and NXTBUS are just some of the wide ranging improvements the ACT Government is making to public transport.
“Other improvements include the purchase of 77 new low emission and more comfortable buses, the dedicated bus lane on Canberra Avenue, which will be opened soon, as well as new Park and Ride and Bike and Ride facilities,” Mr Rattenbury concluded