London double-decker buses are starting to get intelligent. They know how many people are upstairs, and where they are sitting. And soon they will start talking to you.
New display screens have been installed on buses between the driver and the staircase. The screens display a map of the seats upstairs – both free and 1. . It also signals if there are two seats next to 2. so that everybody knows whether it will be possible for two people to sit together upstairs or not. So, how does the bus know when a seat isn’t free? The new technology doesn’t include sensors in the seats, but 3. the existing CCTV cameras on the upper deck.
Red buses are also beginning to get built-in live travel maps that show the progress of the bus on the route and 4. passengers the time to the next bus stop. They also show various landmarks, saving bus drivers from having to answer passengers’ questions about which bus stop is best for Buckingham Palace, for example. The map is also integrated with the Transport for London system, so when the bus is approaching a tube station, passengers 5. about serious delays or other problems. Then they can decide not to get off or take another route.

adapted from www.ianvisits.co.uk