The Netherlands is setting up a computerised journey planner for users
of public transport. The most visible part of the system is the 鈥業nfodesk鈥�
at Den Bosch station, which began operation earlier this year. Passengers
press a touch-sensitive map to indicate where they want to go. The computer
then produces a print-out of the most suitable route, complete with train
and bus times.
Details of the pilot project were given at a transport research seminar
at the University of Sussex last week. The system uses a computerised database
of all the country鈥檚 public transport timetables, and was compiled with
the help of Dutch railways, local bus and tram operators and KLM, the Netherlands鈥�
state airline.
In principle, users could also gain access to this database via a telephone
link from a home computer. Businesses could buy the database or, at its
simplest level, it could be used by operators providing a telephone enquiry
service.
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