Maidenhead & Windsor

The Maidenhead phase of real time information for bus passengers in the Royal Borough will be launched on Saturday February 17 with a special information day in the town centre.

Cllr Antony Wood, lead member for Maidenhead traffic and transport, will join representatives from bus operator Courtney Coaches and real time information supplier ACIS in the High Street from 10am to 2pm to talk to local people about bus services in the Maidenhead area before officially launching the new real time information system.

Offering bus passengers accurate arrival times, the new system is being introduced by the council and Courtney Coaches at selected bus stops. It is a pilot project that will be extended to Windsor next month (in conjunction with First) so it can be properly tested before being extended across the borough.

The services included in the Maidenhead phase of the pilot are:

* Number 6 from Maidenhead town centre to Windsor via West Windsor
* Number 7 from Woodlands Park to Maidenhead town centre and back.

Electronic information boxes showing the number and time of the next buses have been installed at four key stops in Maidenhead:

* Frascati Way, Maidenhead (both sides)
* High Street, Maidenhead
* Woodlands Park.

Real time information for these two routes is now also easily accessible on the council's website www.rbwm.gov.uk where would-be passengers can not only find the scheduled timetables but also check maps of the service routes in the pilot scheme and get the actual time their bus will arrive.

Cllr Wood said this was a major step forward in Maidenhead council's commitment to making life better for bus passengers and helping to reduce congestion across the borough.

He said: "Making improvements that will encourage more people to use our local bus services is a key priority for the council and real time information will be a boon for passengers, who can see at a glance just when their bus will arrive. Having web access to the information will be of tremendous benefit to people living near bus stops who can check their bus arrival time and then nip out to catch it without having to wait.

"We also have more good news ahead with the Windsor launch and making the information available by text. Exciting times for bus passengers!"

The second stage of the pilot in Windsor will go live in mid-March to coincide with First introducing more modern buses in the town.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead