Douai, France--The French city of Douai (population
161,000), located between Paris and the Belgian border, has installed a real time
passenger information system that connects all of its 84 buses and 103 bus stops.
Passengers on the system are among the best-informed in
France, able to access the system not only at bus stops, but also from home through their
minitel terminals and at two electronic kiosks where real time trip information is
provided on screen or printed out on request. Yet, according to the regional transit
authority, the project of installing the radio communication system based on Global
Positioning System location data did not exceed the equivalent of $2 million.
A control center, staffed by two employees, updates system
information every 30 seconds via a local radio channel.
Known by its French acronym of SIOU (Systeme d'Information
et d'Orientation des Usagers), the system was developed and installed by a joint venture
of two French electronics firms, Lumiplan and Dassault Electronique. It includes
light-emitting diode displays on all Douai buses providing next stop information, along
with backlit passenger information panels at each bus stop, which are clearly legible
during the day as well as at night. The information center is also linked with the
electronic kiosks and the minitel server.
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