BEIJING, Sept. 3 -- Electronic sign boards set up at about 500 bus stops in the city will start to offer bus arrival previews for waiting passengers by the end of this year, the Shanghai Morning Post reported today.

The boards, mostly installed in downtown areas of the city, will use GPS equipment installed in buses to tell passengers waiting at stops how long the bus will take to arrive, the report said.

Traffic planners will also expand the use of GPS equipment from the current 5,000 buses to 6,000 this year to keep them running on schedule and improve traffic flow, the report cited the city's traffic bureau as saying.

With support from the satellite system, coordinators at the control office will have more accurate and timely information about buses on the streets, which is expected to help cut down on the number of buses running behind schedule.

The expansion of GPS coverage will also make it possible for more buses to be linked to the arrival preview function in the future, the report added.

Traffic authorities also said yesterday they will continue to install another 50 audio aid on electronic boards at some bus stops to help the blind and partially sighted to use public transport.

Shanghai now has 34 such electronic boards instated at bus stops along Siping Road.

The city is home to an estimated 40,000 blind.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)