The public transport waiting shelters in Brandenburg’s capital Potsdam will present themselves as ever more informative and convenient in the future.

Today’s inauguration of the first "intelligent" bus stop shelter ushers in a new era of city and transport information in Potsdam. This measure is part of the “More service for Potsdam” initiative, which the public transport corporation ViP kicked off together with the city of Potsdam, the utilities and Wall AG as well as further partners in May this year.

Infrastructure Minister Reinhold Dellmann, “Whoever wants to attract passengers to public transport needs to offer modern means of communication there. Acceptance needs to be made easy for the customers. With this new offer, we are able to catch a glimpse of tomorrow’s standards in Potsdam already today.”

Martin Weis, Managing Director of ViP said that the passengers may expect not only a stylish design but also an even better protection against the weather and a wealth of information, which corresponds with the people’s demand for topical information today. “With this new bus stop shelter, the ViP Verkehrsbetrieb Potsdam GmbH is reacting to Potsdam’s development as a tourist centre and the increased demands on quality of the citizens and visitors of the Brandenburg capital of Potsdam, especially with regard to city and transport information.”

Daniel Wall, Chairman of the Wall AG Board, added, “With the intelligent bus waiting shelter, we are making a contribution towards a citizen-friendly city of Potsdam. The highly modern passenger shelter does not only convince through its appealing and individual design but also through its interactive services: Today, we are introducing bluespot, our digital customer and city information network to Potsdam.”

bluespot offers inhabitants, passengers and tourists alike an information platform that they may use at any time free of charge – offering internet access and a telephone function. Apart from the ViP timetables and tariffs, a variety of information may be called up on urban life, including tips on events, restaurants and shopping opportunities, both in German as well as in English. This information may be transferred free of charge from the terminal to the cell phone.

Reason enough to position the first bus stop waiting shelter of the new series at the Schiffbauergasse/Uferweg stop, in the immediate vicinity of the new cultural and commercial location of Schiffbauergasse. This stop will be highly frequented in future by the staff as well as the visitors of the facilities and businesses to be found here.

The Lord Mayor of Potsdam, Jann Jakobs, who participated in today’s hand-over, stressed the importance of public transport for Potsdam, “An effective public transport that is convenient to use for the people is of a large and ever growing significance for the development of Brandenburg’s capital Potsdam. Both inhabitants and guests are using the offers of ViP to a growing extent. The customers are bound to the company with attractive information and service offers.”

At the Schiffbauergasse/Uferweg stop, ViP is now able to gather experience with the new technology, in order to optimize the future utilization in a dialogue with the users.