Modern ticketing systems can provide much more than just ticketing. When on board equipment is linked with central system through 3G/4G, transmitting vehicle position comes as a bonus. This makes it possible building passenger information and fleet management systems within very tight budget: absolutely no need for adding anything on board.
I believe that this is a very smart move that will change how industry addresses this type of functions. While such system cannot fully deliver what a classic full Bus Operation Assisted System delivers, it already satisfies more than 90% of needs for roughly 10 times less: very tempting!
This is exactly what is happening in Adelaide where the Premier Jay Weatherill and Transport Minister Chloe Fox have launched the first phase of the passenger information system with success.
Links below will give you more information about the event.
