This Is BIS
Feature: BusLife
Date Posted: May 17, 2003
A growing range of services now leverage location-tracking technology. GPS (Global Positioning System), which entered mainstream use in the late 1990s, has been integrated across industries to make daily life more convenient. In autos, GPS is used primarily for navigation and speed-camera alerts—and it also supports bus operations logging.
Our focus today is the GPS platform used on buses, commonly known as BIS (Bus Information Service). BIS differs somewhat from Seoul’s in-house BMS (Bus Management System). For this feature, we look at the publicly deployed SK bus operations logging system (Seoul, Gyeonggi), ROTIS BIS (Incheon, Bucheon), and Daesin Information System in the Gangwon region.
This article is based on our own research; some details may vary in practice.
So how does BIS work?
BIS stands for Bus Information Service. The key point is that it is a service—rather than a system. Its mission is to generate information and deliver clear, useful updates to the passengers who ride the bus.
BIS generates its data by applying GPS. To understand BIS, a quick GPS primer helps. A GPS receiver measures precise time and distance to at least three satellites; trilateration from those distances yields the current position. GPS provides latitude, longitude, altitude, and speed. Originally developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, it is now widely used in civilian applications. Civilian GPS typically has a horizontal/vertical error of about 10–15 meters, with speed accuracy on the order of 3 centimeters per second. Military accuracy is not publicly specified but is generally considered higher—often cited anecdotally as within 1 meter.
Applied to buses, GPS enables precise vehicle positioning and a suite of value-added functions. These include automatic stop announcements, headway to the bus ahead/behind, traffic conditions inferred from speed, estimated arrival times (ETA), speed compliance, network-wide headway management, prevention of non-stop pass-throughs at stops, and event logs that capture conditions at the moment of a crash.
Most regions in Korea are exploring BIS, with various projects in development. Currently, SK serves the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas; ROTIS operates in Incheon and Bucheon; and Daesin Information System covers Gangwon and Jeju.
To implement BIS, vehicles are fitted with a GPS receiver and a provider-specific onboard unit that generates and updates data, plus a driver-facing monitor. Operators run PC software that aggregates fleet data. With BIS, the driver’s situational awareness effectively extends to the buses ahead and behind. Dispatch can view every vehicle’s location, regulate headways across the network, and respond to road conditions.
The groups who benefit most are drivers and passengers. Below are screens showing how to check arrivals by mobile phone. These were provided with the cooperation of SK (Seoul/Gyeonggi). Unauthorized reproduction or citation of the following materials may result in legal action.
|
|
Waiting at a stop, we’ve all wondered when the bus will actually arrive. Is the subway faster? How long would the wait be if we stick with the bus? Now you can check on your phone. |
|
|
Open your phone and connect to wireless internet. The demo shown uses NATE. A subsequent June release is planned to add map-based arrival info plus video and images. |
|
|
This is the initial screen of the mobile bus-arrival service. |
|
|
You can search by entering a route number directly, as shown on the left, |
|
|
or select a route from a list. |
|
|
Here we chose Route 222. After selecting a route, choose the direction (origin-bound or destination-bound). |
|
|
The display then shows nearby stops relative to your current location. |
|
|
Select a stop to see its arrival information. Here, the bus is four stops away. |
Real-Time Bus Location Tracking on the Web
Here’s how bus locations are tracked online. The links below sample roughly 70 routes currently viewable in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas. About 2,000 vehicles—Seoul city routes plus Gyeonggi–Seoul express and regular services—are equipped.
| Gimpo Transport | Dowon Transport |
| City bus: No. 130, No. 230 Express (seated): No. 130 | City bus No. 2, No. 222, No. 824 |
| These links are provided through the cooperation of the GPS operator SK and the bus operating companies. Unauthorized linking may be subject to legal action. | |
BIS in Incheon Metropolitan City
Incheon’s BIS is operated by ROTIS. The hardware is the same as in neighboring Bucheon, and the in-vehicle unit transmits data to a central control center in real time—so both operator and customers can access the same information. The device sends data to the center, the main server aggregates it, and updates are distributed to stops, the operator, and buses. Passengers can read LED displays at stops to see how many stops away a route is and roughly how many minutes remain. Incheon is currently piloting service only on Gangin Passenger’s Route 111 (Songdo Amusement Park ↔ Incheon Airport) and has not opened the data on the web. Bucheon, by contrast, provides public web access to bus locations.
This is the stop-mounted LED display used in Incheon’s pilot. It shows route number, wait time, and bus position. Once a bus leaves the previous stop, the display updates as below.
The core component is the in-vehicle unit. Unlike SK’s voice-only device, ROTIS provides an LCD for clear driver visibility. 
The monitor shows headways to the buses ahead and behind and alerts the driver to upcoming stops. If an incident occurs (e.g., the bus ahead or behind is involved in a crash), the monitor displays the event to help maintain proper headways. A drawback is that information appears only when the driver operates a cab-mounted switch. If the switch is not used, outputs can become inaccurate or stale—especially headways. This heavy reliance on manual input is the system’s biggest weakness.
Another issue: unlike SK’s device—which automatically announces headways by segment—the ROTIS unit updates silently and at inconsistent intervals, limiting efficiency. If a bus leaves the designated corridor or signal quality drops, data may stop updating. Incheon’s BIS remains in pilot and still has rough edges. Citywide expansion was planned but has stalled, and oversight has been loose—some vehicles have operated without the unit after fleet reshuffles.
When that happens, stop-side LEDs receive no data and fail to operate. Each stop needs maintenance review, and swift expansion to all routes is warranted.
Jeju City BIS (Materials courtesy of Jeju City Hall & ITSF)
Jeju City’s local buses have piloted BIS for two years. The project is not yet complete, but it is among the country’s most active rollouts. Under Jeju City Hall, ITS Frontier Co., Ltd. leads the implementation. The service covers the entire city, targeting 215 buses and 150 stops. 
Shown at left is the driver terminal. It receives GPS signals to track bus position and transmits current location via wireless modem. It also functions as a tachograph and onboard announcement system. With GPS installed on each vehicle, the platform provides stop announcements and ETAs. According to Jeju City and ITSF, the ETA algorithm even factors in traffic-signal phasing to improve accuracy.
The device at left is a pylon-type arrival display installed at stops. It occupies more space but is self-contained, with an LED panel for arrivals and ad panels on all four sides at the top. 
On the right is the shelter-integrated version. Unlike the pylon, it is compact and dedicated solely to arrival information. While we could not photograph a field unit, we confirmed an installation at the stop in front of Jeju City Hall.
Some shelters install only the LED module inside. Jeju’s city-bus BIS appears to remain in pilot at select stops, but including both stop-side and onboard equipment, it is one of Korea’s more advanced deployments. ITSF drives the city-bus rollout, while Daesin Information System appears to manage the intercity network. We did not ride city routes, but on intercity services we observed Daesin units system-wide with announcements active. Intercity operations also use GPS rather than roadside beacons (the so-called “Garamoe” method). We cannot speak to the relationship between ITSF and Daesin, but Jeju’s push toward better transit and broader BIS adoption is promising.
