• Bus passengers in Solihull will be waiting for their
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buses in the comfort of their own homes this week, as Birmingham-based West Midlands Travel has just launched a queue-busting phone service telling callers when the next bus is due.
Every house on the experimental route will have received a West Midlands travel telephone directory matching telephone numbers to the relevant bus stop. Passengers will therefore be able to find out about any delays, extra services, or even the arrival time of the next bus at their particular stop.
Passengers who phone the bus stop number are given the times of the next three buses, from a central computer in WMT's controlroom. Information radioed in by bus drivers to warn of impending delays is immediately relayed to the computer, from where a recorded announcement is updated.