Over half of people in the UK don’t know where to find a bus stop that will take them to their place of work
- Nearly half of us use our smartphone to make travel decisions, but UK drivers are spending on average 32 hours per year (almost an entire working week) stuck in traffic
- First West Yorkshire has updated its travel app to help commuters find their nearest bus stop
A new poll* by First West Yorkshire has found that nearly half of people in the UK surveyed don’t know where their nearest bus stop is located to take them to work. The research follows the recent news that UK drivers are spending 32 hours (almost an entire working week) stuck in traffic every year.
The UK is the third worst country for traffic congestion in Europe** and First West Yorkshire is therefore urging more drivers to switch to using the bus to help ease congestion and reduce air pollution. The recent survey by First Bus into awareness of bus stop locations found that 53 per cent were unable to confirm which bus stop would get them to work and nearly one third didn’t know which bus stop would take them to their nearest town or city centre.
To assist confused commuters and to encourage more people to consider using their local bus service First West Yorkshire has launched a new travel app that will help smartphone users easily identify their nearest bus.
Key features of the new app include:
- Door-to-door journey planning across all transport (i.e. bus, rail, tram, walking)
- Walking direction to required bus stop
- Real time bus-stop specific information updates
- Option to save your favourite bus stops and shows bus stops within a 5-10-15 minutes walking radius
- Progress along bus route towards destination using google maps
Speaking about the new app, Paul Matthews, Managing Director at First West Yorkshire said: “We’re working hard to make bus travel a more attractive option and encourage more drivers to switch to using the bus for some of their regular journeys. The new travel information app is a big step in the right direction and will help customers plan journeys more effectively and to identify bus stops close-by. This is the first phase of updates we are making to our mobile apps and digital information and we will be announcing more exciting changes in the near future.”
The update to the app is the latest in a string of improvements that First West Yorkshire has made over the last year to improve services. In particular, the business has pledged to invest £71m in ultra-low emission vehicles by the end of 2020 and more recently has partnered with other local operators and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to launch Bus 18 – a local initiative to improve bus services and encourage more people to use them.
The First Bus Travel Information app is available to download from app stores now.
