FLOW
Jye Brien

A smart bus shelter that makes a difference

This project was developed with one goal in mind; ‘How might we make the experience of public bus travel more efficient, safe, inclusive and desirable for all?’

FLOW focuses on solving two major issues associated with bus travel. The first being that buses only pull over when it’s physically being hailed by the waiting passengers. This makes it difficult for visually impaired people to independently identify and hail the bus for themselves. The second being that current bus timetables on shelters are very complicated and difficult to interpret, especially for tourists and people that are unfamiliar with public transport.

The smart bus shelter has a large LCD departures screen with live updates using the existing bus GPS technology. A voice annunciator provides audio information when activated, helping assist those with visual impairments. Additionally, the departures screen has a ‘hail your bus’ feature, where passengers can scan their travel card on the departures timetable for their bus. This ensures the bus will stop by notifying the driver that they are waiting to be picked up. This improves the efficiency of the bus trip and also allows visually impaired passengers to warn the bus to stop before actually seeing the bus.

The bus station also has a travel card ‘top-up’ machine, bike racks, USB device charging ports, and public WIFI to ensure the passengers have an enjoyable, stress-free experience while waiting for their bus. The bus shelter is fitted with six solar panels, providing power for shelter lighting and USB-charging-ports.