New Palma bus information systems to be installed this year

There has been a delay to these systems because of Covid, and so the one hundred or so old buses (up to five years old) will be kitted out between now and June. It had in any event been difficult to arrange this as the buses were constantly out on the road. The new buses that EMT have acquired are equipped with the systems.

The systems consist of the element which is not visible to passengers - the geolocation and the back-end system for tracking and monitoring - and the one which is. This is the payment and ticketing part.

Until now there have been deficiencies with the systems in that, for example, information panels at stops and the MobiPalma app haven't functioned properly. As well as the buses themselves, the new information systems are for the network as a whole, and so a router is now to be used to ensure that information panels aren't affected by meteorological conditions. When there is a storm, for instance, they can cut out in parts of the city.

In 2022, the town hall hopes that passengers will be able to recharge their citizens' card via their phones. Bus routers will allow programming for recharging.