Live Tram Times

Hi Dom. Thanks for your comments. 

The trams operate on a very different system when compared with the buses. I can only assume they are tracked by GPS, considering customers can see a live view of where the buses are on their website.

We operate with an AVLS system (automatic vehicle location system) and this allows our control rooms to see a live view of the trams. It also allows us to communicate with our trams and understand timetable information so we can track how the system is performing.

The issue is, this system is secure and we don't have the same system set up for customers to view. Even if we allowed access to this AVLS system, it's not very customer friendly, with respect to how it looks. It's quite complicated to understand what it all means, unless you work for the trams and have received training.

With that being said, it would be good to have this system linked with a basic view that customers could see and access. My understanding though, is that this would be very complicated to convert or link this data to another platform that customers could understand. I also assume it would be extremely costly.

There are also issues with how the AVLS system works when issues arise. If there is a disruption on the network, the AVLS system works based on the timetable we have input into the system. If trams do not pass certain locations that they would normally do without the disruption, it can cause further confusion, as the timings would be incorrect. This again, would be difficult for customers to understand.

Whilst I'm sure this is not the answer you are looking for, I hope this gives you some more context

Regards

Luke Taylor

Customer Experience Manager

The stations have live times but also the Nottingham City Bus service does too so I find it hard to believe this is impossible to implement. 

Hi Zack. We have a full tram timetable and you can find it here: NET Timetable

Just so you're aware, we're currently working on some support articles for each and every tram stop. You'll have access to information on a particular tram stop which will include detailed information and all tram timings scheduled for that stop. Keep your eye out for further updates to NET Support

I hope that helps

Make a complete timetable for a tram so we should be aware of its live timings so we don't have to worry about it.

Hi Tom. Thanks for the message. I'm unaware that we used to have live tram times on Google maps. This may have been before my time. Perhaps this was prior to our extension? I certainly haven't seen live tram times in my time with Nottingham Trams. (5 years of service this year!)

We don't currently have any plans to re-introduce this, but we are working on improving how we communicate delays and missing services to our customers. Live tram times would be ideal, but it's my understanding that it's a very complicated process and it would be difficult to track live tram times when something goes wrong on the system and our trams have to use turnbacks.

We have already worked on communicating disruption with customers. You may want to read some of our support articles. You can view more information about how we manage disruptions here: https://support.thetram.net/support/solutions/articles/15000052043-network-disruption-faqs-and-information

We also have new maps for the NCT bus links across the system: https://support.thetram.net/support/solutions/articles/15000052047-where-are-the-nct-bus-stops-nearest-to-the-tram-network-

I hope this answers your question, Tom