Talking Buses in the UK
Talking Buses in the UK
Below is a list of locations in the UK and bus services with Audio Visual announcements.
The information is divided into three categories: locations and services with Talking Buses, locations and services with future plans for Talking Buses, and locations and services which we know do not have Talking Buses or have no current plans to.
The lists are in alphabetical order by place name, followed by the name of the service provider and information about the service.
Locations and Services with audio visual (AV) technology
Abellio Surrey 461 459 451 also 35 other bus number routes
Aberdeen - First Aberdeen First Aberdeen has invested £250k in giving the Platinum treatment to Service 12, which operates every ten minutes between Torry and Heathryfold via the city centre. Route 12 is the first to operate with onboard next stop audio-visual announcements. http://www.agcc.co.uk/news-main/item/24636-second-platinum-service-premieres-in-aberdeen/
Aberdeenshire - Stagecoach Bluebird Routes 80, 201, 202, 203 and JET 727, Deeside to Braemar tourist route, and for Aberdeen Airport Buses.
Aberystwyth to Haverfordwest - Traws Cymru (Welsh govt.) Hourly T5 service linking Aberystwyth and Haverford West will have AV by the end of April 2015.
Arriva Max Service - Darlington ARRIVA MAX Service
Darlington - Stockton - Middlesbrough;
Darlington - Richmond / Catterick - Colburn;
Darlington - Tow Law;
Darlington - Bishop Auckland
Arriva North East - Sapphire Service Darlington – Durham, Durham – Hartlepool, Middlesbrough – Lingdale, Middlesbrough – Loftus, Middlesbrough – Whitby, Newbiggin – Newcastle, Durham - Sunderland
Belfast - Metro (Translink) All Belfast Metro buses to have audio-visual announcements from March 2015. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/translink-launch-audio-visual-system-for-visually-impaired-metro-bus-users-31092058.html
Birmingham - Central Buses AV now installed on new buses as standard
Birmingham - Centro Since 2013 NX hybrid buses operating on routes 22 and 23 between Birmingham city centre and Harborne; route 1 between Dudley and Wolverhampton; route 222 between the Dudley and Merry Hill. Further commitments to roll out this technology on 50 buses over the next couple of years .
Birmingham - National Express West Midlands Services 22 and 23
Birmingham to Tamworth - Arriva Sapphire Route 110, Birmingham to Tamworth via Sutton Coldfield
Bournemouth - Bournemouth Transport Ltd. All 135 buses in active fleet to be equipped with AV next stop and final destination announcements by April 2015.
Bournemouth - Yellow buses AV rolled out across the Yellow Buses fleet as of November 2015
Bristol - First Group 75 double decker buses fitted with AV, with the single decker services (routes 8 and 9) starting in May and further services beginning throughout the year.
Cambridgeshire - Stagecoach Busway B has AV in part
Cardiff - Cardiff Bus A new range of buses featuring AV in English and Welsh was introduced in late 2013 http://m.cardiffbus.com/article.aspx?articleid=3159
Chester and Wrexham - Arriva 9 refurbished ADL Enviro400s operating on the service between Chester and Wrexham; 11 Sapphire service buses with AV in Wrexham
Chorley-Bolton-Wigan - Arriva Arriva operate Sapphire-branded services 575 and 362 between Bolton, Wigan and Chorley: http://www.arrivasapphire.co.uk/where-we-operate/bolton-wigan/ http://www.arrivasapphire.co.uk/where-we-operate/chorley-wigan/
Coventry and Warwickshire - Travel de Courcey Currently on X6 service and will be fitted as standard to any new additions to the fleet. http://www.midlandsbusinessnews.co.uk/Travel-de-Courcey-Launches-Talking-Bus/
Crawley - Metrobus 18 new buses fitted with AV on Fastway service http://www.transportnewsbrief.co.uk/bus-and-coach/metrobus-bus-use-fastway-investment-secure-18-new-buses/
Dorset - First Group AV equipment fitted to all buses in the Weymouth area, though not 100% operational.
Dundee - National Express 5 buses with AV
Edinburgh - Lothian Buses Just over 70 buses with AV
Gillingham-Maidstone - Arriva Sapphire branded bus service featuring AV will operate on route 101 from Gillingham to Maidstone from September 2014
Glasgow - First Glasgow AV on their airport service but no plans to add it anywhere else
Glasgow - Lothian Buses AV on some of their services and are committed to having it fitted on all the new buses they introduce to their fleet
Go North East Newcastle - Durham; Heworth - Felling Hadrian Park; Chester le Street - Hylton; Newcastle - North Shields; Heworth - Houghton le Spring; Parkside - Sunderland; Sunderland - Newcastle; Gateshead - Newcastle; Easington Lane - Newcastle; Hexham - Newcastle; Consett - Newcastle; Consett - local"
Go South Coast Go South Coast are rolling out 'Next Stop Audio' on 72 buses this year with more to follow
Gosport and Fareham - First (Solent) E1 and E2 services have had AV since April 2012
Hampshire - Solent Transport Body "Solent Local Transport Body awarded money from the Better Bus Area fund for 526 talking buses buses, and by April 2014 had installed AV on 274 buses operating in the region. No buses operated by Stagecoach or First were included in this initial figure, though they are due to install AV by March 2015. http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=hampshire%20better%20bus%20fund%20%22audio%20visual%22&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocuments.hants.gov.uk%2Ftransport-for-south-hampshire%2FBetter-Bus-Area-Fund-report-April-2014.docx&ei=tmvbU9DAPIOd0QXCpYCIBQ&usg=AFQjCNFReX_FSFO-iF7zLXWs2XxFwz3U9g&sig2=B6D2c93jfoQO2r8INxg7jg
Inverness Airport - Stagecoach The six Jet buses feature AV http://www.hitrans.org.uk/MobileDocuments/HITRANS_2010_2011_Annual_Report.pdf/section7.html
Isle of Arran - Stagecoach Entire Stagecoach network on Arran fitted with audio-visual announcment systems following £1.5 overhaul in early 2015
Isle of Man - Trial on 3 and 3A services - Bus Vannin Four week Talking Buses trial commenced Oct 2015 on 3 and 3A services
Jersey - Liberty Bus At the start of 2014 Liberty Bus were live-testing the on-board AV next stop announcement system
Leeds-Wakefield - Arriva Arriva launched 17 new Sapphire buses on the Wakefield - Leeds route in April 2015, all fitted with audio-visual announcement systems.
Leicester and Oadby - Arriva Refurbished double decker buses with AV between Leicester and Oadby
Leigh - Manchester Guided Busway http://www.tfgm.com/buspriority/Pages/website/guided-busway/index.html
Liverpool to John Lennon Airport - Arriva 500 service from Liverpool to John Lennon Airport
Llandudno to Caernarfon - Arriva 15 buses with AV on routes 5 and X5 (Llandudno - Caernarfon via Bangor)
London - TfL All buses have AV
Luton - Luton Dunstable Busway Project Has onboard visual next-stop displays, React 3 enabled RTPI that allows a key fob to be used by sight impaired people to give verbal messages.
Luton-Watford - Arriva South East Arriva has invested £1.7 million in a fleet of ten brand-new single-deck buses that are set to upgrade its service linking Luton, Harpenden, St Albans, Garston and Watford - starting 31/8/2014 http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/south-east/Latest/arriva-invests-1.7-million-in-new-sapphire-buses-for-service-between-luton-and-watford/
Milton Keynes - Arriva Arriva have begun the installation of audio-visual announcements on their Milton Keynes fleets, using funds from the Better Bus Area bus fund.
Newport - Newport Buses Newport Buses have pledged that all new buses will have AV, and have started to introduce them on some routes. 2012 press release: http://www.newportbus.co.uk/news/newport-transport-launches-five-new-double-deck-buses-featuring-audio-visual-destination
Northern Ireland - Translink 5 buses used in AV pilot
Nottinghamshire - Nottingham City Transport Another 82 talking buses to be purchased within the next 3 years (as of March 2016) taking the fleet to 100% AV.
Nottinghamshire - Trent Barton Launched their 100th talking bus 22nd July. Plan to introduce on-board announcements for all commercial routes into Nottingham by 2014. Routes: H1, i4, indigo, mickleover, rainbow one, rapid one, red arrow, rushcliffe greens, sixes, skylink Derby, skylink Nottingham, swift, villager, zoom, 22"
Oxford - Oxford Bus Company Currently have 31 buses with AV next stop and final destination technology, with plans to continue rolling out AV on all new buses. 11 new buses with AV to arrive in June/July 2015
Oxford - Oxford Tube (Stagecoach) 26 new Van Hool Astromega double decker buses which will be introduced to the Oxford tube service fleet and will be fitted with AV. The first of the new Astromegas enters service on 16 July 2014. http://www.busandcoach.com/newspage.aspx?id=8508&categoryid=0
Oxford and Aylesbury - Arriva Refurbished double deckers betwen Oxford and Aylesbury
Plymouth - Plymouth Buses Plymouth buses stated in 2011 they were installing AV [PDF]: http://www.google.com/url?url=http://www.plymouthbus.co.uk/download/15151.5/corporate-responsibility-report-2011/&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s&sa=U&ei=i93IU6K5I8Gv7AbR9YD4Dg&ved=0CB8QFjAC&sig2=vvaVvvbsb_DAjsUv3VfrNQ&usg=AFQjCNFRWz-U-XxBzE7cA-SLYNyG2-OQIA
Reading - Reading Transport Approximately 60% of buses have AV
Rhyl – Arriva Route 12 Rhyl to Llandudno operated by Arriva is Saphhire branded and has 20 buses with AV http://www.arrivasapphire.co.uk/where-we-operate/rhyl-llandudno/
Scottish Borders - Perryman Perryman operate a number of routes from border towns to Edinburgh that feature buses with AV: PDF: http://www.perrymansbuses.co.uk/magazine/01/files/assets/common/downloads/Perryman.pdf
Sheffield to Bakewell - TM Travel First four Talking Buses on route 218 linking Sheffield and Bakewell.
Solihull - Diamond Buses Operating 8 vehicles with audio visual announcements in South Solihull from June 2013, including a number of services run under contract to Centro.
South Yorkshire Route 120 in Sheffield has AV; council is interested in further funding opportunities
Southampton/ South Hampshire Southampton City Council announced in 2012 that 150 buses were to be retrofitted with AV http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-17631510
Strathclyde - Strathclyde Partnership for Transport All new buses will be fitted with AV
Suffolk - First X1 service has AV installed
Swansea - ftrmetro(First) Express service features AV
Swindon - Thamesdown Buses In 2010 Thamesdown launched six routes with AV: http://www.thamesdown-transport.co.uk/index.asp?m=207&s=220&c=1461&t=PRESS+RELEASES
The City of Brighton and Hove Starting in 2011 Brighton and Hove buses introduced 21 buses with AV and have continued to roll them our across the network http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8990105.Talking_Buses_come_to_Brighton_and_Hove/
Warrington - Network Warrington Route 12; Network Warrington have confirmed all new buses will have AV
Winchester, Eastleigh, Romsey, Southampton - Bluestar Buses Edit 29/12/14: All Bluestar and Unilink are now fitted with AV - 128 buses in total.Â
Windsor and Maidenhead - Courtney Buses All local Maidenhead and Windsor services
York - Arriva Existing AV on a couple of routes
Yorkshire and Lancashire - Blackburn Bus Company "Transdev Blazefield operate around 400 vehicles across Yorkshire and Lancashire, and have committed to installing AV on all new and refurbished buses in their fleet. Around 100 buses will be fitted in 2016 http://www.lancashirebus.co.uk/news.jsp?newsID=1708
Locations and Services with some/future AV
Bournemouth and Poole - Go South Coast Go South Coast are in the early stages of evaluating fitting AV to buses in Bournemouth and Poole.
Bournemouth Bournemouth is one of five local authorities that are increasing the provision of audio-visual systems on buses in their local area with funding from the Department's £70 million 'Better Bus Area' fund. Link to PDF reference here
Dorset - Go Ahead Go Ahead have committed to providing voice announcement service in the Poole area.
Dorset - Yellow Buses AV included in plans for LSTF funding
Kent - Arriva and Stagecoach Kent County Council (KCC) has recently funded the installation of a new audio announcement system that announces the arrival of the bus and its destination to those waiting on the pavement. This system has been fitted to two buses operated by Go-Coach on KCC contracted services in the Dartford area. KCC is also working closely with Arriva and Stagecoach on projects involving AV technology on buses across the County.
Liverpool – Arriva Arriva to trial some buses with AV in Liverpool from May 2015
Peterborough As part of Peterborough City Council’s successful £5 million Local Sustainable Transport Fund bid, improvements are being made to make it easier for passengers to transfer between the rail and bus stations, including real-time passenger information, an interchange board and better access. On-board audio and visual information, driver disability awareness training and on-bus cameras are also included in the package of measures, as well as plans for smartcards and park and ride services. Reference here
Stockton-on-Tees - Arriva North East In 2014/15 the Sapphire service (which includes AV) will be launched on services X3, X4 and 5/5A, between the east coast and Redcar and Middlesbrough. In addition X66 between Darlington – Stockton - Middlesbrough and X26/X27 Darlington to Richmond and Catterick in North Yorkshire will be upgraded and branded as MAX services (which include AV) as a pilot project
Surrey Will use the Local Sustainable Transport Fund to equip the majority of the bus fleet in the Blackwater Valley and Basingstoke/ Andover areas with on-board Wi-Fi and next stop audio visual announcements
Swansea - First Cymru Research by Guide Dogs Cymru said in Swansea the buses that go from Singleton Hospital to Morriston Hospital have the ‘talking buses’ facility, but the system is very rarely switched on. Reference
York - York Council In response to a question tabled by Julian Huppert, Stephen Hammond said that York was one of five authorities introducing AV through the Better Bus Area Fund. Reference
Locations and Services with no AV/ no plans for future AV
Blackpool Local authority owned Blackpool Transport buses do not have AV. The modern trams do, however.
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire County Council have no current plans regarding Talking Buses
Norfolk - Norfolk Green No AV
Stagecoach East Midlands Bus stops have real time passenger information but no current plans for AV
Stagecoach Northamptonshire Considering real time passenger information in transport fund bids
Stagecoach South East No AV on any services and no plans for future roll-out.
Stagecoach West Scotland No AV on any services, no current plans to roll out.
Torbay Are looking for funding opportunities before pursuing AV
Worcestershire Introducing real time passenger information but no AV
Updated 02/09/16
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