7:30pm Wednesday 5th December 2007
By Rachel Wareing
Customers at a city centre pub are benefiting from a new computer system which lets them sup and queue at the same time.
A screen has been installed behind the bar of the Prince of Wales pub in Churchill Square, Brighton, to make sure drinkers don't miss their bus.
The technology puts real-time information about the progress of buses so customers know whether they have enough time to order a pint or whether they will have to make do with a half.
The scheme is part of a pilot project which could eventually see similar screens installed in public buildings across the city.
Landlord Aron Barnes came up with the idea for the system after coming across the www.citytransport.org.uk website run by the Brighton and Hove City Council which provides live information about bus times.
He began to display the site on the pub computer but was frustrated to find he could only show a small selection of bus routes at any one time.
So instead he contacted the city council, who put IT specialists Desktop Display on the case.
The computer firm designed a special software programme which enables the pub to stream live information about a wide range of bus routes directly onto their PC from the web.
Mr Barnes said: "We get lots of shoppers and shop workers coming into the pub while they wait for a bus. They were always asking for the timetable book we kept behind the bar.
"This new system is fantastic. Previously customers would have to sit outside or keep looking out the window to see if their bus had arrived. This will save a lot of stiff necks."
Desktop Display has been working with the city council to design bus information screens for public areas in the city. So far the boards have been installed at Jubilee Library in Brighton, Sainsbury's in New England Street, Brighton, and the foyer of Legal and General's offices in The Droveway, Hove.
Pete Barker, the director of the Brighton-based firm, said the screens are a useful addition to those installed at bus stops.
He said: "If people can wait in pleasant surroundings rather than outside in the pouring rain they will be happier to use public transport.
"It is the beginning of a tidal wave in Brighton and Hove. The information boards could be used in coffee shops, larger offices, hospitals - anywhere people can wait at their leisure."
He said the company is currently developing the technology to ensure it is accessible to all, including those with sight and hearing difficulties and non-English speakers from overseas.
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