Highlights

• 20 Interactive kiosks with Journey Planner

• Allows passengers to intuitively access journey information

• System allows passengers to take the data away with them – thanks to system generated QR codes

Customer requirements

The historical town of Colchester has more than it’s fair share of attractions, and Essex County council were looking for an interactive method to allow passengers to plan their journey and highlight local public services and points of interest.

In addition to the screens, the solution would also require a method for passengers to take the details way with them.

Solution and technology

To meet the requirements of Essex County council, 21st Century Passenger Systems Ltd installed 20 interactive kiosks, operating 21st Century’s intuitive Journey Planner, software designed in-house.

The displays are designed to assist passengers to easily and conveniently plan their journeys, and provide all the information necessary for them to make informed decisions about their travel options. This includes information about multiple modes of transport, including bus and rail departure times and walking routes.

To save time, popular destinations are pre-listed, allowing the public to access the information in just a few short clicks. The list can also be customised, allowing Essex to adjust it for periodic features. If the desired destination is not in the pre-configured list, all passengers need do is type it into the intuitive user interface. Full journey details are clearly displayed on screen.

The easy-to-use software can be installed on the same hardware as journey departure information, making it incredibly cost effective.

To draw users to the screens, the kiosks feature a distinctive Attract Page, that advertises all the services the kiosks can provide. These include not only the journey planner, but also 21st Century Passenger Systems Ltd’s Walled Browser, that allows the user to visit web pages that Essex County council has chosen because of the information they can provide the public. Local BBC news and weather, National Rail Enquiries and also the councils’ website can all be viewed from the interactive terminal.

Passengers in Essex are also able to take their journey with them, thanks to a QR code generated with the route plan. The passenger simply scans the QR code with their enabled smart device, and their smart phone will load a web page with all the selected journey details on it.

The kiosks are all monitored by 21st Century’s SignMinder and Watchman systems, which automatically report the health of the displays back to 21st Century’s Coventry base to ensure the screens are always working to optimum performance.