The Public Transport Information and Priority System, abbreviated PTIPS, is a computer-based system used in New South Wales, Australia, that brings together information about public transport entities, such as buses. Where applicable, PTIPS can also provide transport vehicles with priority at traffic signals. PTIPS consists of a number of hardware and software components installed on-board buses which wirelessly communicate with a central set of servers. PTIPS also relies on an interface with

Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System The Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System, abbreviated SCATS, is an intelligent transportation system that manages the dynamic (on-line, real-time) timing of signal phases at traffic signals, meaning that it tries to find the best phasing (i.e ...

(SCATS) - to provide the priority feature) and bus/route/timetable data provided by bus organisations and government authorities. PTIPS provides: * Real-time tracking of bus location and status * Traffic light priority for late running buses * Bus/Timetable performance and reliability reports * Real-time Bus arrival information for bus stops

How PTIPS works

PTIPS works by combining, on the one hand, schedule and route path information for buses performing timetabled services (as opposed to, say, charter trips), and on the other hand, live location data transmitted by the buses to PTIPS. PTIPS receives XML data files from the bus operators, which contain information relating to planned trips (for example, route paths, trips & schedules, bus stops etc.) Each bus that PTIPS tracks is equipped with a hardware device that records its location via

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

, and transmits it to the central PTIPS servers via the cellular radio communications network. Buses transmit these messages at certain intervals (which are configurable, and which vary depending on what the bus is doing), and also when they pass certain points along their intended route. Apart from GPS location, the transmitted messages also include information about the vehicle and which trip it is doing. With the above information, PTIPS can compare the location of a bus performing a certain trip, at a certain point in time, with where it should be, based on the planned route and timetable data.

Real time apps

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is a Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government transport services and roads List of New South Wales government agencies, agency established on 1 November 2011. The agency is a different entity to the NSW ...

worked with several developers in late 2012 to create, and release smartphone applications with access to the real-time bus data provided from PTIPS. Released in December, several

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s, allowing customers to track where their buses were in real-time, as well as any delays or timetable changes as they occur. It was initially trialled on Sydney Buses' route 400. In 2013, this real-time data was further expanded to provide live information from

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the brand name and operator of Railways in Sydney, suburban and intercity train services in and around Greater Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The metropolitan part of the network is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban r ...

, and private bus operators

Hillsbus Hillsbus was an Australian bus company that operated services in the Hills District of Sydney. Founded in 2004 when National Express merged its Glenorie Bus Company and Westbus (Hills District operations only) subsidiaries, it was later part ...

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Busways Busways is an Australian bus company operating services in Sydney, and in the Central Coast, Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales and Adelaide. It is the largest privately owned bus operator in Australia. History The origins of Busw ...

Blacktown, and was eventually rolled out across bus operators in Greater Sydney. In 2020, Transport for NSW started working with bus operators to introduce real-time tracking to regional bus services. As of March 2022, PTIPS-assisted real-time tracking was available for the regional centres of

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

, Bathurst, Bega,

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

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Nowra Nowra () is a city in the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated po ...

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie, sometimes shortened to Port Mac and commonly locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane, on the Tasman Sea coast at the mouth of the ...

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Pale ...

, Tamworth,

Tweed Heads Tweed Heads is a coastal city at the mouth of the Tweed River in the Northern Rivers region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tweed Heads is the northernmost town in New South Wales, and is located in the Tweed Shire local government ...

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Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

.Real-time trip updates and digital timetables for Albury, Greater Nowra and Tamworth
Transport for NSW 29 March 2022

References

Sample of Realtime Data

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

Contract ID: PTIPS

Roads & Traffic Authority The Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) was an Statutory authority, agency of the Government of New South Wales responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. The RTA directly managed state ...

Retrieved on 16 April 2007.
Priority bus green lights scrapped
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Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' Retrieved on 16 April 2007. {{reflist Bus transport in New South Wales Intelligent transportation systems