Free WiFi on Airport Coaches

WiFi on transport outfit Icomera and UK bus operator FirstGroup have announced the availability of wireless Internet access on the RailAir coach service linking Heathrow Airport with Reading. First’s fleet of RailAir coaches has been equipped with Icomera’s Moovbox M Series mobile broadband gateway, which allows passengers to access the internet throughout the 50-minute journey. According to a statement from the two companies, this allows on-board access of speeds of “up to” 2Mbps. The new system also allows First to track the whereabouts of their coaches, via a GPS-based vehicle location service.

RailAir is a non-stop service operated by First Berkshire with departures from Reading for Heathrow terminals up to every twenty minutes. In total, FirstGroup has approximately 9,000 buses operating in 40 towns and cities across the UK, carrying 3 million passengers every day.

In a statement to the press, Dave Palmer, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Icomera said “Given the passenger demographic, airport bus and coach routes are a natural choice for WiFi services. Business passengers can get online at no cost and make the best use of their time. More importantly, free WiFi is the preferred way to connect while travelling abroad as it avoids high international 3G data roaming charges.”

Usage of WiFi

hotspots on public transport has seen significant growth during 2008. Icomera reported over 3.7 million sessions by over one million passengers in the twelve months to the end of October on its in-vehicle Moovbox systems worldwide, a 272% increase over the period.

The RailAir deployment is part of a wider WiFi initiative currently underway at First based on Icomera’s Moovbox technology. First Berkshire is in the process of fitting Icomera mobile broadband gateways on its Green Line service that runs between Royal Windsor and Victoria Coach Station in Central London. The Icomera Moovbox has also been deployed in South Wales by First Cymru on the Shuttle100 commuter coach service between Cardiff and Swansea.

FirstGroup is one of the largest transport companies in the UK and North America, with annual revenues of some £6 billion. It employs around 137,000 staff and carries almost 2.5 billion passengers a year. In the UK FirstGroup operates passenger and freight services including First Great Western, First ScotRail, First Capital Connect, First TransPennine Express and First Hull Trains. In the US it has operates yellow school buses (First Student), transit contracting and management services (First Transit), vehicle maintenance and ancillary services (First Services) as well as Greyhound the provider of scheduled inter-city bus transportation services.