Bus company enhances rider experience and safety with comms system

Greater Manchester bus operator Go North West has implemented a radio communications system to provide a range of benefits to the public as well as enhanced voice, data and fleet management functionality.

Serving areas across the UK region, including Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford and Warrington, the upgrade will enable the operator to manage bus movements, provide reliable real-time communications, and enhance passenger safety.

Driver and passenger safety

Designed and deployed by TES Communication Solutions, driver and passenger safety has been key in the design of the system. Dedicated control channels mean that emergency calls can be proactively prioritised regardless of system traffic, and a dedicated backhaul infrastructure largely independent of public cellular networks means that in the event of a major incident in key areas, Go North West will still be able to communicate with vehicles to manage a fluid response.

“This upgrade to the latest technology will revolutionise the way we are able to manage our services with increased ability to communicate between drivers, inspectors and central control,” said Connor Lomas of Go North West.

“The travelling public of Greater Manchester will see the benefits and we will be working with TES to ensure this happens as efficiently and as quickly as possible.”

The managed services agreement between TES Communication Solutions and Go North West will mean that TES also takes ongoing system ownership responsibility for the commercial and technical maintenance of the infrastructure sites that provide city coverage, the vehicle radios, and compliance matters including Ofcom licence management.