Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the local government body responsible for transport in the Manchester region, has partnered with tech firm CitySwift to launch a new data management platform to make the city’s bus network more efficient.
According to TfGM, the deployment will make it the first franchised transport authority in the UK to use artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver more reliable, frequent and quicker bus journeys, building on the Greater Manchester Bus Strategy announced last year.
“Customers are at the heart of the Bee Network and by working with CitySwift we will be able to see more clearly than ever how services are performing,” said Catherine Towey, Senior Lead for bus franchising at TfGM. “We can then use this information to prioritise improvements and deliver a better service for passengers.”
The authority says the contract with CitySwift is worth “up to £350,000” (US$452,000).
How it works
According to CitySwift, data is “ingested” from the operator’s vehicle GPS location hardware, scheduling systems, and ticket machine data.
The company’s platform then “cleans, analyses, and enriches” this data, delivering results via the CitySwift platform in the form of insights, recommendations for service adjustments and predictions for the impact of any changes.
“The goals and vision set out in the Great Manchester Bus Strategy speak clearly to our mission at CitySwift – grow patronage with frequent and more reliable buses,” said Brian O’Rourke, CEO and Co-founder of CitySwift.
“I am thrilled that we’re partnering with TfGM, supporting them in achieving this goal through our transport data-solutions, as we continue to build the smart cities of the future.”
Bus strategy
Since the launch of the Bee Network – an integrated transport network comprising the city’s buses, trams and active travel – in September 2023, TfGM says ridership and service quality has improved.
Over the past six months, bus ridership increased by 5 percent with a record of over 849,000 passenger journeys recorded in a single week in May.
Punctuality – a key concern among commuters in Manchester – has also improved, with more than 80 percent of buses running on time, an increase from the previous year’s 68.7 percent.
TfGM aims to increase the use of buses in Greater Manchester by around 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2022/2023 levels, which would equate to nearly 50 million journeys per year.
Image: TfGM
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