StarPal is making coach transport accessible and compliant with PSVAIR, using AI and gaming technologies
StarPal is exhibiting its portable passenger information kit for PSVAIR compliance and is entering the Innovation Challenge. By September, 55 kits had been deployed by 18 operators.
The kit puts an animated character on screen who announces each stop in audio and in text, triggered by GPS. The avatar is rendered in real time using game engine technology – where StarPal’s founders came from before they started building passenger information equipment. The result is a presence on screen that passengers actually look at, rather than a line of scrolling text.
Deployed in as little as 48 hours
“Operators tell us that the incumbents are able to deliver with a three-month lead time, when we are now able to do it in three days,” says Jerome, CEO of StarPal. Deployment typically runs one to two weeks from order to first service, but when an operator has a contract starting on Monday, StarPal has gone from order to in service in 48 hours.
Nothing to do in the vehicle
The kit is managed entirely in the cloud, with live updates and no USB stick or vehicle visit required. The driver presses one button to pick the route, and everything after that is hands-free. Routes are built by uploading the PDF of a running board, which AI reads and turns into a stop sequence. GeoJSON and other formats are supported, and integrations with telematics platforms including Samsara are in progress.
Welsh, voiced natively
Welsh is supported natively and voiced, giving passengers a warm, familiar accent rather than a cold translation.
Every announcement logged
Operators follow their fleet in real time from the StarPal portal. Every announcement is logged – which vehicle, which stop, what time – giving operations teams an immediate answer when a passenger or authority asks what was announced and when. StarPal also offers ‘Hyper Care’ support, delivered remotely by phone or video with no engineer visit required.
Built with operators
Coach operators have co-designed successive versions of the product, including The Box, a next-generation unit that connects to a coach’s existing screens and sound system. The Box is coming soon, at a lower price and with even simpler installation.
“We’re judged on simplicity, so everything we build is measured by how quickly it goes in and how little the driver has to think about it. The kit arrives, it goes on, one button, and the announcements happen.”
Tanguy Dewavrin, COO and co-founder, StarPal
StarPal will run live demonstrations throughout the show, where visitors can watch a kit make live announcements and even create their own. Operators considering the kit can also ask to be put in touch with operators already running it.
About StarPal
StarPal builds passenger information systems for coach and bus operators, combining conversational AI with real-time 3D technology from the video games industry. It is a Techstars London alumnus and a National AI Awards 2025 winner.
Visit StarPal on stand 583 at Euro Bus Expo 2026, 3–5 November, NEC Birmingham.
Daimler Buses UK Ltd at the Euro Bus Expo Show 2026
Daimler Buses UK Ltd will showcase the latest Mercedes-Benz Tourismo safety technology, the eCitaro with fourth-generation NMC4 batteries, and 30 years of OMNIplus service expertise at Euro Bus Expo 2026.
Mercedes-Benz Tourismo: next-generation safety system rollout
Safety in coach driving is often decided in fractions of a second. This year, Daimler Buses UK Ltd showcases the Tourismo equipped with the latest generation of Mercedes-Benz safety technologies, designed to assist the driver in demanding traffic environments while enhancing protection for passengers and other road users.
Both new for the 2026 specification, Active Brake Assist 6 Plus (ABA 6 Plus) and Attention Assist 2 support drivers by helping to identify hazards, maintain concentration and respond more effectively in critical situations.
ABA 6 Plus extends the capabilities of the proven emergency braking assistant. Up to 60km/h, the system can react to pedestrians and cyclists who cross the roadway, come in the opposite direction or are travelling in their own lane, with maximum full-stop braking initiated if required.
Attention Assist 2 uses a cockpit camera to monitor head position, gaze direction and eyelid movement to identify early signs of distraction or drowsiness. It detects distraction from around 20km/h and drowsiness from around 30km/h, issuing an acoustic warning and a visual notification in the instrument cluster. Privacy remains fully protected: image information is converted into metadata in real time and is neither stored nor transmitted.
On board, the show vehicle features Voyage Ambassador seating with enlarged seat surfaces and cushions for greater side-to-side and legroom comfort, along with individual colour inserts in the upholstery.
Mercedes-Benz eCitaro with NMC4 batteries
From this year, all new Mercedes-Benz eCitaro buses for the UK and Irish markets are equipped as standard with fourth-generation lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC4) battery technology.
Compared with the previous NMC3 generation, NMC4 offers approximately 13 percent higher energy density. A rigid eCitaro can achieve a range of up to 500km under favourable operating conditions – an additional 100km compared with the previous battery generation on a like-for-like basis – subject to route profile, passenger loading and climate conditions.
Existing eCitaro fleets can also benefit, with NMC3-to-NMC4 retrofits supported by OMNIplus battery replacement expertise and carried out by selected Service Partners.
Visitors will also be able to meet specialists from Daimler Buses Solutions GmbH, which provides consultancy and turnkey solutions for charging infrastructure, depot design and eMobility implementation – from initial needs assessment and depot planning through to delivery.
OMNIplus: 30 years of bus and coach expertise
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, OMNIplus has evolved from a pioneering one-stop service concept into Europe’s largest bus and coach service ecosystem, with more than 600 service locations and over 2,000 service professionals across Europe.
- Innovation: connectivity solutions, online platforms and digital fleet management tools that help operators optimise performance and reduce downtime
- Parts availability: approximately 300,000 ready-stocked replacement bus and coach parts, backed by a Europe-wide distribution network
- Future-ready: dedicated eMobility services, from in-house high-voltage battery repair and replacement to charging infrastructure consultancy
Visit Daimler Buses UK on stand V1, Hall 19 at Euro Bus Expo 2026, 3–5 November, NEC Birmingham.
Freeway Launches AI-Powered Data Assistant at Euro Bus Expo 2026
Ask Freeway allows bus and coach operators to query their maintenance data using questions in plain English.
Freeway Fleet Systems has announced Ask Freeway, a new AI-powered data assistant that allows bus and coach operators to ask questions of their fleet maintenance data and receive meaningful answers in seconds.
Ask Freeway will be demonstrated at Euro Bus Expo 2026, where visitors will be able to see how questions asked in everyday language can be used to extract information and insights from fleet maintenance data.
Conversational analytics for fleet maintenance
Building on Freeway’s Insight-AI technology, launched in 2024, Ask Freeway introduces conversational analytics to fleet maintenance. It can search across engineering records, defects, labour, parts, inspections, servicing and compliance information. Because the information is connected and structured, the system can search the complete maintenance history to answer complex questions.
Managers can ask questions such as: “Which vehicles have had the most repeat defects in the last six months, and can you show the count grouped by component?” Other questions might include: “Which manufacturer is costing us the most in parts?”, “Which PM inspections are overdue this week?” or “Why has vehicle ABC123 been off the road for so long?”
Instead of navigating different areas of a fleet management system, running reports or exporting data for further analysis, users simply ask for the information they need.
“Ask Freeway changes the way people interact with a fleet maintenance system. Previously, the user needed to understand where information was held, which reports to run and how to analyse the results. Now they can simply ask a question in plain English. Instead of having to learn the system, the system understands them.”
Patrick Tandy, Managing Director, Freeway Fleet Systems
Built on structured data
The effectiveness of Ask Freeway is underpinned by the way maintenance information is captured. Rather than simply computerising existing paper processes, Freeway captures structured data digitally at the point of activity, including inspections, defects, workshop jobs, parts usage and other maintenance tasks.
This creates a detailed and connected digital maintenance history encompassing defects, inspections, jobs, parts, labour, costs, downtime and compliance. The information is available in real time across the business and provides the structured data that Ask Freeway can analyse using AI.
“AI is only as useful as the information available to it,” adds Tandy. “Operators using Freeway are continually building a very detailed digital picture of their fleet. Ask Freeway can bring all that information together. A manager could ask why a particular vehicle has been off the road for so long, for example, and the system can interrogate its maintenance history to help identify the reasons.”
Ask Freeway can be used for everyday workshop queries as well as wider management analysis. Operators can investigate repeat defects, compare vehicles and manufacturers, analyse parts and labour expenditure, monitor inspections and compliance, and identify trends that might otherwise be difficult to spot. The technology also makes sophisticated analysis available to managers without requiring specialist data-analysis skills.
“The really exciting development is that maintenance data stops being something you simply record and retrieve,” says Tandy. “It becomes something you can have a conversation with. You ask the question you actually want answered and Ask Freeway uses the data already captured across the business to provide the insight.”
About Freeway Fleet Systems
Freeway Fleet Systems is a global provider of digital solutions for managing vehicles and assets, working seamlessly across different locations and platforms. Its software provides an all-in-one solution to manage workshops, defects, stores, purchasing and compliance. Users include Transdev, Lothian Buses, Bus Éireann, First Bus, trentbarton, Reading Buses, Nottingham City Transport and Go-Ahead.
Visit Freeway Fleet Systems on stand 358 at Euro Bus Expo 2026, 3–5 November, NEC Birmingham.