Anyone can submit an idea to Dublin Bus through their new portal to held solve four key issues within the network
A bus driver stands in the doorway of his bus at a bus stop in Dublin, Ireland, on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Irish ministers and executives are closely monitoring economic and market developments in the U.K. because the country is Irelands largest trading partner along with the U.S. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images(Image: )
Dublin Bus have launched a new initiative and have asked the public and bus users to contribute their solutions to the issues faced by the bus networks.
Dublin Bus Innovation (DBI) wants stakeholders, employees, and the general public to take part. The seed funding challenge boasts a total prize fund of €60,000, divided equally among four unique innovation challenges.
Anyone can submit an idea to Dublin Bus through their new portal to held solve four key issues within the network, and there is an allocation of €15,000 for a project based off the winning idea. If chosen, they will receive expert advice, a dedicated team, and the funds to see the concept come to life.
This challenge is being launched by Dublin Bus to find fresh and innovative viewpoints on what their customers need. The four areas of assessment are:
Data & Visualisation
In 2025, the company transported 165 million customers, generating a vast amount of data. Dublin Bus recognises significant potential for innovation in how this data is stored, analysed, and utilised.
Optimisation
Dublin Bus, with its fleet of 1,100 buses operating from nine depots, is on the lookout for innovative solutions to enhance process efficiencies, cost optimisation and project management tracking, aiding its evolution for the future.
Collaboration
In the previous year alone, customer numbers surged by 6 million. Enhancing these customer interactions will result in a better, more engaging experience for the passenger. Dublin Bus is on the hunt for inventive ways to boost engagement with their customers.
Smart Cities
Dublin Bus envisions public transport playing a pivotal role in Dublin’s future as a smart, connected, and integrated city. This challenge is backed by Smart Dublin. Ideas should capitalise on opportunities that pave the way for Dublin to transform into a city of future mobility, as detailed in the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan 2023.
Dr John McCarthy, Director of Innovation and Technical Services in Dublin Bus, emphasised that the ideas portal is open to everyone: “We’re keen to get ideas from everyone that uses the network.”
“We’ve created is a portal for people to put their ideas in. So if you go into the Dublin Bus website, there is an active portal there, an innovation portal, where people can put in their ideas against those four challenges. Once those four changes are submitted, there is a team in Dublin Bus that will look at that,” he told RTE Radio One.
“There is a very light form for people submit their ideas showing this is the idea, this is value it would add, whether it’s efficiency, cost savings, et cetera. And we would like to think that with the expertise, and not just the money, that we would be able to pilot what has been presented to us. And ideally we want to scale it.”
He said there will be a 12-week window for the ideas to come in. When asked why the public are being consulted, rather than existing experts, Dr John said that you cannot overlook the brilliance of ideas generated by those who most frequently use the service, though it is open to Dublin Bus employees too.
“We have nearly four and a half thousand people working for a great organisation. I would balance that against there’s over 165 million customer journeys taking place or took place last year. Imagine if you got one idea from those people. There’s a huge amount of people there that have great ideas. I think Minister Lawless put it very well today at the launch when he said you know innovations in our DNA. But let’s hear from everyone. We are an open door and an open book for this,2 he said.
You can find the portal on the Dublin Bus website.
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