TfGM to use AI to improve bus services

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has partnered with global public transport optimisation specialist, CitySwift, to explore how AI can improve Bee Network bus services in the city-region.

The partnership will make TfGM the first franchised transport authority in the UK to use AI for the purpose of delivering more reliable, frequent and quicker bus journeys and support Greater Manchester’s ambition of growing bus use by near an extra 50 million journeys annually by 2030. CitySwift will help TfGM achieve this through supporting a more integrated, user-friendly, and frequent network, and better infrastructure for reliable bus journeys.

Speaking on today’s announcement, Brian O’Rourke, CEO and Co-founder of CitySwift said:

“The goals and vision set out in the Great Manchester Bus Strategy speak clearly to our mission at CitySwift – grow patronage with frequent and more reliable buses. I am thrilled that we’re partnering with TfGM, supporting them in achieving this goal through our transport data-solutions, as we continue to build the smart cities of the future.” 

Through this partnership, TfGM will have access to CitySwift’s performance data across the entire Bee Network to identify trends and pain points such as traveller destinations and service performance, allowing them to recognise where improvements should be made to benefit passengers.

Additionally TfGM will leverage CitySwift’s latest product offering, Spotlight, an intelligent recommendation engine for bus network enhancements. Designed for stakeholders, the product enhances decision-making by providing AI-powered insights into performance and resource parameters like timeliness, cost, and vehicle numbers through scanning the whole network, executing optimisation variations, and proposing ROI improvements.  

Catherine Towey, Senior Lead for Bus Franchising at TfGM said:

“Customers are at the heart of the Bee Network and by working with CitySwift we will be able to see more clearly than ever how services are performing.  

“We can then use this information prioritise improvements and deliver a better service for passengers.”