"Real Bus"：A Smart Transport System

Background Information

In accordance with government guidelines to provide “Internet +” services, the “Real Bus” project integrates traditional transport with modern technology (“traditional + internet”). It provides a bus service based on the demands of the market rather than of the government, and uses new technology to analyze and adapt services to optimize and encourage safe and comfortable bus use instead of private cars, thereby also meeting environmental policy goals.

Goals of the Initiative

•Implementation Goal

The main purpose of “Ruyue Bus” customized bus service project enriches existing public transportation services and provides a high quality and safe transport service.

•Schedule Plan

a)With the use of the Internet, collect on-demand information on circuit, time, and price from citizens on passenger terminal App to analyze transportation demand from citizens and design reasonable lines with the use of big data and data fusion technology.

b)Its business model meets the government regulatory requirements without being constrained to the demands of customized personalized services from enterprises and citizens mainly through citizens deciding lines, enterprise pricing and platform supervision.

c)In May 2016, “Ruyue Bus” added “Ruyue Water Bus”, a diversified ferry service integrating commuting lines, current travel routes, Pearl River Night Cruise. “Real Bus” offers a comprehensive Internet transportation platform which provides transportation and travel services to diversify the transportation options for citizens.

Parties and Partners to the Initiative

“Real Bus” involves a “public-private” partnership.  

“Real Bus” was launched by the Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Transport and it works with the Guangzhou Public Transport Data Management Center who plays a leading role in creating an alliance between “Real Bus” and the traditional bus companies. The operation is strengthened by combining the government, current platforms and companies, with all three sides contributing complementary advantages.

As the leading department, the Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Transport is responsible for the regulation and guidance of “Real Bus”. The Guangzhou Public Transport Data Management Center has created a “Real Center” from which it can supervise services, offer business guidance and customer service and analyze service trends amongst other services.

Guangzhou No.1 bus company, No.2 bus company, No.3 bus company, Jumbo Bus Company, Sunshine Bus Company, JC Bus Company and other state-owned and private companies are in charge of operation management, cost estimation and safety control as well as vehicle operators and managers.

Resources Used for Implementation

The Guangzhou Public Transport Data Management Center is financed by self-raised funds. Government subsidies funded the development of a unified operation and management platform which uses automotive equipment, passenger analysis and data analysis to monitor our transport services.

Bus companies, as transport providers and operators, are funded by the transportation fees, meaning passenger tickets are based on market prices, and the tickets reflect the actual costs of the journey. 

Innovation for the Initiative

The initiative is considered revolutionary, as prior to the “Real bus” intiative, no enterprise and units have structured a unified platform involving traditional bus. “Real Bus” is aligned with a number of other enterprises, and using these alliances, namely the “Real Center” and the Internet platform, “Real Bus” is able to utilize and support the development of these enterprises, combine online technology with offline resources and effectively use existing resources to provide high quality, diverse and safe transport options across the city. 

Innovation has been applied in

The business model of “Real Bus” abides by government transport regulations while meeting the demands of a customized personal transport service, which is developed through citizen input to decide bus lines, pricing and the platform supervision.

An innovative solution and response to the current traffic pressures and citizen demands, “Real Bus” collects transport demand data online. The management platform carries out a comprehensive analysis of the data, and when demand reaches a certain level, they will transfer the information to the enterprises who will plan and open new lines.

To date, “Real Bus” has opened a number of different lines. The commuter line links large communities to subway stations; the campus line connects schools in the suburbs or ex-urban areas with the transport hubs like railway and subway stations. The third line is a sightseeing line which connects tourist spots in the city. These lines supplement the cities current bus routes, relieving the transport pressure brought on by the city’s development and filling the transport gap to provide public transport that is high quality, comprehensive, safe and at market prices.

“Real Bus” is an innovative exploration of new modes of public transportation and new policies. As leading departments have played a role in the development of “Real Bus”–from its design to its operation –it has been able to apply a new model of transport, developing its own lines and adopting a market-orientated approach according to the demands of citizen. This breaks the regional limitations of traditional public transport, giving it full access to the market and streamlining the long and complex approval process for transnational bus routes. “Real Bus” is also significant as it offers a pilot scheme for reforming our responses to traffic.

Obstacles and Solutions for Innovation

Operational Obstacles: “Real Bus” does not receive government public transport subsidies. Its market-orientated mode of operation means it takes full responsibility for its own profits and losses. Lines that have the most demand are often valued by franchises whereas public welfare lines that take on more social responsibility have a hard time attracting enterprises to run the lines, which intensifies the competition between different transport enterprises. Therefore “Real Bus” works with its alliance companies to establish norms and rules to reduce these contradictions and ensure the running of social welfare lines. 

Promotion Obstacles: Unlike use of the traditional bus, “Real Bus” allows tickets to be bought online and verified through the “Real Bus” App. As it can take time for citizens to adapt to this change, at the early stage of promotion “Real Bus” prioritized lines that are popular amongst young people who are the most adaptive to change. From this, other popular lines for people of various age groups have been gradually opened. At the same time, “Real Bus” has continued to develop its travel routes and travel types, as well as its business model to provide a variety of transport options for people to choose from. Moreover, “Real Bus” regularly launches and follows themed activities and promotion activities to attract more potential customers.

Policy Obstacles: As a new development, NASB has an application limit in its current bus and passenger transportation management policy. Through maintaining its market orientated stance and dictating its own pricing, stop location and daily regulation whilst operating as a public transport bus, it brings challenges to the relevant government departments. Because of this, “Real Bus” is supervised by the Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Transport who helps guide the successful development of “Real Bus”.

Outcomes and Assessments

In order to be successful, “Real Bus” needs to ensure passenger acceptance. In addition to continuously opening new lines according to residents’ requirements, we continue to gain public exposure through large-scale events and provide high-quality service.

In order to provide fast and direct transport, “Real Bus” emphasizes directness and speed, and so each line has no more than five stops (including the terminal stop) making our transport service more efficient.

The “Real Bus” service encourages green transportation. By offering a high quality, reliable and safe service, it has helped reduce the number of people who want to own private cars, and has reduced both traffic pressure and exhaust emissions.

“Real Bus” originally had a local affect as it focused on transportation within Guangzhou; however, thanks to its success, it is having a wider impact and has been extended to include inter-city lines. Other cities are also trying our system. 

By July 2016, “Real Bus” opened more than 500 lines in the city’s major districts, creating over 50,000 work shifts and with nearly 600,000 people signed up to the “Real Bus” App.

Methods Applied

The “Real Bus” was launched by new operation mode, new supply and demand platform and new policy to achieve the innovation.

Ruyue Bus is an operation mode that Guangzhou Traffic Committee supervises and guides while Guangzhou public transport data management center plays a leading role with bus companies as alliances.

With the use of the Internet, collect demand information on circuit, time, and price from citizens on passenger terminal App with which to analyze transportation demand from citizens and design reasonable lines with the use of big data and data fusion technology.

Its business model meets the government regulatory requirements without constraints to demands of customized personalized services from enterprises and citizens mainly through citizens deciding lines, enterprise pricing, and platform supervision.

Benefits to other cities

“Real Bus” offers pattern innovation by providing a new operational mode for government guidance, center lead projects and enterprise alliances.

“Real Bus” breaks the regional operational limits of traditional public transport by offering new routes and encouraging operational enterprises to explore and adapt to market demand, break regional operational limitations, improve cooperation with other enterprises, design and open their own lines and operate according to their own conditions.