Stuttgart/Bremen - Red means wait – green means walk: that is the basis of a simple, trailblazing idea in the bus of the future. An idea which will optimise passenger flows both inside and outside the bus. In simple terms, the system uses illuminated door entries which quickly and clearly tell passengers where they may enter and exit. This is just one of the many ideas generated as part of the EBSF (European Bus System of the Future) transport project that will be shown at the Bremen bus show from 24 to 25 May 2011. The conference, organised by the EBSF project partners along with the UITP and the VDV, will look at the current activities of this EU research and demonstration project, with particular focus on the EBSF sub-project in Bremerhaven. As well as considering the theoretical approaches, the conference will also look at solutions that have already been implemented, such as the demonstrator vehicle on the basis of a Mercedes-Benz Citaro and the vision for a pan-European, ergonomically optimised bus driver cockpit.

EBSF is the largest road-based transport project supported by the European Commission to date. It is conceived as an overarching, widely networked research project for the design and development of an innovative, high-quality European bus system of the future. The aim of EBSF is to demonstrate the potential of a new generation of urban bus networks, with a particular focus on an integrated systems approach (vehicle, infrastructure, technology, operation) which takes the passenger requirements of all age groups into account. The results and technical solutions from these projects are implemented in so-called "Use Cases" (demonstration projects), and tested in day-to-day operations. A total of seven demonstration projects are planned in seven European cities. A demonstration vehicle is now in operation in the bus transport system of Bremerhaven, and another demonstration project – the vision of an ergonomically optimised European bus driver’s cockpit – is available for virtual journeys at the IVI-Frauenhofer Institute in Dresden.