Cluj Napoca – Predictable Public Transport
Challenge
Cluj-Napoca is Romania’s fastest growing city. The working population of Cluj-Napoca are increasingly moving to more affordable and comfortable surrounding areas such as Ciurila and Petrestii de jos. With residents regularly travelling to the city for work, these two areas are becoming important commuting zones.
Residents in these areas, however, do not have access to the same variety, quality, and frequency of mobility solutions as those in more established neighbourhoods. This unfortunately encourages a reliance on personal cars instead of more sustainable transport modes for daily commutes. The use of personal vehicles contributes to air and noise pollution, and traffic jams within the city of Cluj-Napoca.
The city’s objective is to increase the use of the public bus system connecting Ciurila and Petrestii de jos and the city for daily commutes. A key issue identified by the city is the lack of reliability and predictability of the current system connecting the commuting zones and city. Despite a fixed timetable, buses often have changes to their schedule due to traffic or other incidents.
One of the solutions to increase the use of buses for daily commutes is to provide users with access to real-time information on schedule changes, wait times and destination arrival times.
Improving predictability and reliability of public transport in these lower serviced areas can increase user trust and encourage sustainable mobility behaviour.
CURRENT SITUATION
The solution should meet at least one of the following objectives
- Solutions and services that provide commuters with real-time information on public transport modes
- Digital tools that track buses in service
- User applications that inform users on estimated arrival times and schedules
The solution should target at least one of the following impacts:
- Increased use of public transportation
- Improved use of public resources (occupancy rate of buses)
- Increased trust in digital tools
- Increased trust in public transportation
Solution
Developed by local start-up X2 Mobile, Transport Cluj-Napoca is a mobile application that provides real-time information to public transport users in the metropolitan area. The app uses an API to access the GPS locations of the city buses every five seconds. Based on the bus position, the app predicts the amount of time it will take to reach the next station and shows its exact location on the map. The app provides information on arrival times, expected delays, and notifications of disruptions, helping users plan and navigate their journeys and reducing stress and anxiety.
Results
•90% of app users interviewed would use the application
•Real-time tracking of buses was identified as the most valuable feature
