European community for mobility management

Soon, a trial of the new travel information system (BlueDRIS) for the blind and visually impaired will start in Leiden. 

BlueDRIS will provide dynamic travel information via Bluetooth. BlueDRIS works as follows. A commuter arrives at a bus stop. His mobile phone automatically connects to a central information point. This takes place by means of GPS and the internet or via Bluetooth using a transmitter installed at the stop. Information about bus arrival times at the stop is then sent to the user’s mobile phone in the form of a text message. The telephone reads this information to the commuter using the phone’s text-to-speech function. All information related to public transport is gathered at a central information point. Since all buses are tracked using GPS, a bus’s arrival time at a specific stop can be estimated. Before the system is further rolled-out, the ways in which mobile phones connect to the central information point will be further investigated during the trial. BlueDRIS looks likely to be able to provide the blind and visually impaired with the same information that can be read on the display at the stop. It’s possible that, in the future, BlueDRIS could also be used by sighted persons.

Source