As you may know, last week we attended the Tough Times conference in Birmingham, hosted by WSP and Transit.

It was eye opening to see just how difficult the challenges set by this recession are, both structurally and financially. In particular, the budgetary reductions expected by local government in the coming years; Figures used were between 20 and 30% reductions in expenditure, with some counties even considering the complete removal of RTPI from their existing infrastructure! Sadly, service cuts are ahead. Pain will be felt by the public,and it was interesting to hear just how these authorities will go about such cuts.

In the case of Surrey, a landmark, award winning school transport project called Pegasus has had to be curtailed. 96% patronage, new vehicles and a waiting list to use. Where else in industry do the most popular, succesful projects, get canned first?

Well local government, we would like to help you.

We know times are tough and decisions have to be made. The value of our in- depth reporting as well as timetable reviews will make it so much easier to isolate those poorly utilised services. Our GPS tracking will help you maintain those revisions, thus gaining trust from and ongoing useage fromYOUR passengers, because the bus will actually arrive when it says! Our apps make it easier to distribute your schedules,  and, actively monitor enquiry levels, to help you rebuild services in time to come! Best of all, we dont need programmable computers, that have a poor record of performance to be placed on your buses and……we can work with and enhance your existing network of signs… Integrate schools into your network, and you really will find those PVR reductions. Did we mention CO2 monitoring? We can help you reduce CO2 levels too!

The biggest waste of funds that day? Buses that run around all day, equipped with RTPI displays that show a telephone number for bus information. Why ?? Bus stops that have signage but no funds to link them into the network. You can see why the industry is fighting to keep customers.

We want to help……..If you know a good deal, call us soon!

The Youtextus team is back on its travels again. No rest for the cheerleaders of RTPI!

A couple of exciting days ahead, as we see four prospective customers, for what we believe is the best value RTPI system in the world! These companies operate over 3,500 vehicles a day, and we know just how much value we can add to them and their passengers.  Delays throughout the journey due to lack of train managers; at least its not leaves on the line”! Seriously, why is it that the train company knows we are to be 25 minutes late, but the poor passenger is fed the line that all is well and on time? It should be so easy to get this information to passengers, as we have shown.

I noted today that even the train staff didn’t have the full picture! How does a multi million pound business hope to operate efficiently when its staff don’t even know where they are going next? Is this another market area for us ??

The team at Youtextus believes that Real Time Information offers more than just passenger benefits, as valuable as they are! Rest assured, we will keep pushing the message! Just think, full information without having to go to the rail station or bus stop,(where the signs exist that is) not just locally, but globally

Thats our aim, we hope it is yours too! Would welcome your comments or discssion points.

Here’s a nice photo of the developers and founder of Dublin Coach at the launch of the new RTPI service in Dublin last week.

“Dublin Coach has announced the launch of Ireland’s first GPS tracking and real-time passenger information service. The service, which uses the latest GPS technology, is available as a free download as an Apple iPhone or iTouch application and was created over a two-year period by leading Irish software development firm uTrack.

Dublin Coach passengers can use the application, which utilises Google Maps, to see when a coach will arrive at their bus stop in real time and can immediately see if their coach is delayed for any reason. Passengers can also use the service to check their flight schedules at Dublin Airport, as well as to pick up any last minutes travel advisories.”

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We are always keen to get out of the office here, as well as having the chance to meet existing and potential new customers, and tell them just how easy and inexpensive it is to introduce YouTextus to their existing operators and RTI infrastructure (do you have one?). This year, its even more important to maximise your spend!  By the way, did you know; We are already working within local government to drive down costs and expand access to information?  So, we have decided to join the WSP and Transit teams at their Tough Times Conference. We will be highlighting:

• Just what you can achieve with your budgets and spend
• How to maximise value AND, offer new initiatives without it costing any more !
• How easy it will be to improve excess waiting times and reliability. GET PASSENGERS BACK ON BUSES
• Manage your CO2 emissions NOW, not just when it is going to cost you!

When we say value, we mean value for money, for everyone!……..Real Time Information, mobile apps, internet access, operating reports, CO2 emissions, customer feedback, multilingual information, schools, coaching…….

Want to know more? Come see us on the day at the SAS Radisson, Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham…. For what we can save you in costs, the delegate fee will be worth it!

Our innovative Apple iPhone app has today been released through the Apple app store. We are proud to be supporting the public transport industry. Our approach to the industry is different: we believe in partnership, and we really work one to one to ensure our partners succeed.

When our low cost Real Time Information is combined with our innovative reporting packages, value adding timetable reviews, and specialist services such as schools, CO2 emissions and multilingual ability, we believe that operators and passengers alike, will really benefit from our innovation. YouTextus is a truly Global company that offers specialist service and support. How can we help you and yours? Just ask Dublin Coach or see it yourself at the app store, search under Dublin Coach