One of the key objectives for the bus industry in London, outlined by the Mayor in his 2001 Transport Strategy, was to achieve reductions in:

• the variability of passenger waiting times
• the variability of bus journey times
• whole route bus journey time

To meet this challenge, we decided to develop a system giving both drivers and service controllers an opportunity to be directly involved in the control of the route, and work together to deliver a better service.

Intelligent Route Information System (iRIS)

iRIS required a considerable investment in technology from Metroline. The resulting state of the art system uses GPS and GPRS mobile communications technology to track buses, inform drivers of their position in relation to other buses on the route and provide automated intelligent control messages to drivers. In 2004, iRIS won an award for technological innovation at both the London Transport Awards and National Transport Awards.

Empowering our staff

iRIS puts service control at the core of the system and empowers all our staff to optimise service reliability for passengers. It also has the potential to provide excellent passenger information as a valuable by-product.

Innovation: Training and Education