Edinburgh buses: Permanent fix for troubled bus tracker system 'imminent' says new transport convener

Stephen Jenkinson said roll-out of the system had been "sub-optimal" with supposed "real time" information at bus stops giving only the scheduled arrival times rather than when buses were actually expected. 

But he said: "We're going through a process of testing and developing fixes and the roll out of a permanent solution is imminent."

Screens at bus stops display timetable information rather than real time updates | @jester_mouse on X.

A test sign has been set up at one of Lothian Buses' depots to help get to a stage where real-time information is being displayed.

The new system, which has seen 330  screens installed at bus stops, was originally due to be up and running by early 2021, but Covid and Brexit held up progress. And then it emerged that the system's technology was not compatible with GPS installed on Lothian Buses’ fleet.

It had been hoped the real-time service updates would be shown in time for this summer’s festivals, but that did not happen.

An update for next week's transport committee says council officers are continuing to work closely with Lothian Buses to integrate their real time data onto the new on-street signs. 

And it continues: "A test sign has been set up within Lothian Buses’ Annandale Street depot to replicate real time information at a selected number of bus stops within the city. 

"This enables further testing of Lothian Buses’ real time departure information by monitoring the times against their real time information system, a separate GPS tracking service and live CCTV.  During this time, officers and contractors will also analyse on-street data as well as back-office logs to check the validity of data. 

"As soon as all project stakeholders agree that the data is accurate and reliable, real-time information for Lothian Buses’ services will be displayed on all on-street signs at stops served by Lothian Buses’ services."