About UK Buses

01About

UK Buses is an independent service, made by Rouic, that tracks live bus data to show where buses are, when they’ll really arrive, and how well (or poorly) services are running. Pick your town or city and we collect its arrival times, delays and disruptions from the Bus Open Data Service.

This tool is designed to help commuters understand patterns in bus reliability, identify problematic routes, and provide evidence-based data about service quality that can be used to advocate for improvements.

02Features

• Live MapReal-time bus positions in your town or city
• Live ScheduleUp-to-date arrival times for any stop
• Performance TrackingHistorical delay and reliability statistics
• Disruption AlertsActive and historical service disruptions
• Smart Route PlannerData-driven departure recommendations based on historical patterns

03Getting started

1. 1Go to the Statistics page and add the bus lines or stops you want to track.
2. 2Data collection starts automatically. The system checks for bus arrivals every minute and stores the results.
3. 3View your personalized statistics, headway analysis, and disruption history on the Statistics dashboard.
4. 4Use the Map for real-time tracking and Schedule for live arrival times.
5. 5Try the Smart Route Planner to get departure time recommendations based on historical delays, weather, and traffic patterns.

04Data sources

We use UK Government open data sources for maximum accuracy and reliability:

• BODS SIRI-VMReal-time vehicle positions from the Bus Open Data Service
• GTFS StaticOfficial timetables, routes, and stop information
• TomTom TrafficLive traffic congestion and incidents
• NaPTANNational public transport access nodes (stop data)

Data is collected every minute and stored to enable historical analysis, pattern detection, and machine learning predictions.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Bus Open Data Service).

05Smart predictions

We don’t just show you the scheduled time - we predict when your bus will actually arrive based on real data:

• 5.1

  Real-time tracking

  When a bus is heading toward your stop (verified by GPS bearing), we calculate ETA using observed network speeds and road distance estimates.

• 5.2

  Historical patterns

  We analyse 30 days of arrival data for each line and stop. If the 21 is always 5 minutes late at 8am on weekdays, we’ll show that in the predicted time.

• 5.3

  Machine learning

  Our ML model (R² = 0.89, 72% within 60 seconds) predicts delays based on time, day, weather, traffic, and stop position along the route.

• 5.4

  Speed analytics

  We measure actual bus speeds between stops throughout the day. Rush hour slowdowns are factored into predictions automatically.

Confidence levels indicate data quality: High (20+ observations), Medium (10+), or Low (<10). As we collect more data, predictions become more accurate.

06Why not just use the official app?

The official bus tracker only shows you what’s happening right now. That’s useful for catching your bus, but useless for proving that the service is consistently unreliable. Here’s what we do differently:

• 6.1

  Historical records

  We store every data point. When you say “the 21 is always late”, we can show you exactly how late, how often, and when it’s worst.

• 6.2

  Headway analysis

  We calculate the actual time between buses. See bunching (3 buses at once, then nothing for an hour) and gaps the API never tells you about.

• 6.3

  On-time performance

  Real percentages of how often buses arrive on time, early, or late. Compare routes, stops, and time periods with actual data.

• 6.4

  Disruption patterns

  Track which lines have the most disruptions, what causes them, and whether things are getting better or worse over time.

• 6.5

  Smart route planner

  Tell us when you need to arrive and we’ll recommend the best departure time for each day of the week. We factor in historical delays at your stops, weather sensitivity, traffic congestion patterns, and current disruptions to give you a confidence rating and buffer recommendation.

In short: the official app tells you the bus is late. We tell you it’s been late 73% of the time for the past month, mainly during rush hour, and it’s gotten worse since they changed the timetable.

07Credits & links

Built by Rouic

A frustrated Plymouth commuter

View on GitHubOfficial Citybus Site

08Feedback

Found a bug or have an idea? Write to [email protected], or see Support.