STOP 2.0 by STOP2

For the blind

How do the blind recognize the right bus in Länsiväylä during rush hour? Currently they don't.

With STOP 2.0 every bus stop has an iBeacon Bluetooth transmitter. The mobile app in the traveller's pocket recognizes the nearest bus stop via iBeacons. Then the application provides information about next departures from the stop. After that it's easy to send a request for the driver of your chosen bus to pick you up.

For children

Have you ever been worried about a child who is travelling on alone? Currently not all buses have info screens indicating the name of the next stop.

When using STOP 2.0 there is no need to panic. Every bus has an iBeacon transmitter to identify the current bus the user is in. The stop destination can be chosen in advance so the child has plenty of time to choose and pick the stop where they want to get off.

For tourists

How do the tourists that don't know Helsinki know when to get off a stop?

With STOP 2.0 tourists spend less time deciphering timetables and more time sightseeing, since getting off at the right stop is guaranteed. All the user has to do is wait for the notification which tells when the chosen bus is arriving at the correct stop.

The Problem

The existing public transport doesn't pay enough attention to different special needs groups such as the visually impaired, children or the elderly. We want Helsinki to be the city where the people can use public transport smoothly regardless of age or capability. Currently, it is very difficult for visually impaired people to get the right bus to stop, especially during rush hour or if the bus is late. On the other hand, children can easily panic if they are not familiar with the route and the info screen with stop names is missing or faulty.

The Solution

The main purpose of the STOP 2.0 is to allow the traveller to give information for the driver about their wish to stop the bus. The application uses small iBeacon Bluetooth transmitters for location. Both the buses and the stops have iBeacon transmitters, so the user is able to identify the beacon and ask the bus to stop on the right place: either from the bus stop for the approaching vehicle or from inside the bus. STOP 2.0 is integrated into buses to notify the driver about the need to stop at a certain bus stop.

Technology

STOP 2.0 uses state of the art technology.

The mobile application is written in React Native. The back end server uses Python and Flask and is continuously deployed by Travis-CI. The app also uses iBeacons for stop and vehicle identification.

A more accurate description of the technical architecture can be found here.

Aknowledgements

The original idea by Henna Kalliokoski, Pihla Toivanen, Jenny Tyrväinen, Ronja Oja and Tintti Rahikainen won the first prize in HSL's hackathon.

The application that later implemented the original idea received a special mention and mentoring prize from Finnish Transport Agency in Ultrahack 2016.