BCC-RAPID

Realtime Advanced Priority and Information Delivery (RAPID)

The RAPID bus priority and Passenger information system was developed by Brisbane City Council to improve road capacity by encouraging people to use buses.

RAPID is built upon Brisbane City Council's BLISS ITS platform and uses existing traffic signal infrastructure to track the buses as well as lower communications costs.

RAPID uses detector loops in the road and transponders on buses to track the location of buses on the road and Busway network. This data collected is used in a complex mathematical formula to predict the arrival time of buses at all Busway stations and select stops on the suburban network, the arrival time information is displayed on Realtime Passenger Information signs at these stops.

Operations staff are able to use the system to identify the precise location of buses within the road network. Specifically the system displays bus numbers, route numbers, driver numbers, how early or late a bus is, where it originated and where it will terminate.

The system now provides passengers with benefits in the greater Brisbane area, operating with both private and government owned buses. Readily extensible, RAPID can enhance bus operations and encourage passengers in any transport environment.

Busway References

RAPID is currently in use on the South-East and Inner-Northern Busways, and will be implemented on the Northern and Eastern Busways when they are constructed.