Parents will soon be able to track the progress of the local school bus so they know when to pick their children up. 

The new real-time bus tracking technology will be installed in more than 70 buses that service the Lismore area. It’s not just parents that will benefit, but anyone who wants to know when a bus will arrive, or how many seats might be available.

The NSW Government is rolling out the new tracking technology in more than 70 buses next month as part of phase two of the NSW Government’s Transport Connected Bus program.

Nationals Member of the Legislative Council Ben Franklin said the new technology is great news for anyone who uses the buses in Lismore.

“The technology will make it so much easier for bus customers to get around by allowing them to track the location of their service, its estimated time of arrival and how many seats are available, all by using the trip planner tool at http://www.transportnsw.info and third-party public transport apps,” Mr Franklin said.

“It will mean less time waiting at your bus stop and more time at your destination.”

Operators involved in the Transport Connected Bus Program will be Koonorigan Bus Service, Northern Rivers Buslines, CCC Bus Service, J Watson & Son, Quinns Buses, Sims Bros. Coaches and Dunoon Bus Service.

Transport for NSW has partnered with CONSAT Telematics, a global leader in public transport telematics solutions, to deliver the vehicle tracking and passenger counting technology. CONSAT will work with the seven operators who deliver route and school services on behalf of the government.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the big cities have had this technology for years, but “now we are bringing it to the regions”. 

“Not only will it be more convenient for regional users, it will also make it easier for us to understand and plan where service improvements need to be made,” Mr Toole said.

“The technology has already been rolled out in Dubbo, Coffs Harbour and Bega with great results and we are excited that Lismore has been selected as one of 14 cities in regional NSW to receive this technology as part of phase two.”