Punctuality, comfortable travelling, efficient exchange of vehicles. It sounds like a dream, but for Umberto Guida it’s a vision. Guida works for the international Association of Public Transport and coordinates the research project EBSF, European Bus System of the Future, which aims to improve bus services in seven different European cities
The first results of the project can be seen in Spain and France. The public transport authority of Madrid has integrated a new information system so that commuters can obtain real time travel information as the exchange between suburban buses, urban buses and the metro. In France engineers have designed a barrier-free access to facilitate the boarding for handicapped people. The prototype bus was taken for a first test drive on the streets of Rouen.
“It is the first time that at a European level three aspects, vehicle, infrastructure and operation are studied together and are developed together in some innovative solutions”, says Umberto Guida quite proudly. All the results will be made public and could also help other local authorities not involved in the project to adapt some of the new ideas and technologies.