Ten years and untold millions of dollars after it was first envisioned, it looks like Metro Transit will finally have a rider-friendly Go Time system. Halifax council Tuesday approved $5.9 million for an “Automated Vehicle Location /Computer Aided Dispatch” system for buses, to be purchased from Trapeze Software Group , a Mississauga company
Metro Transit will entirely scrap its existing, and not very helpful, OnRoute AVL/CAD system, as well as the existing “Interactive Voice Response” system—the recorded telephone voice that tells riders when the next two scheduled buses will supposedly arrive at a particular stop.
From a rider standpoint, once installed—in about two years, fully 10 years after the OnRoute system was installed in 2006—the new system will basically have the capabilities of an iphone: it will provide real-time locations for buses, text messaging capabilities between drivers and management and mapping systems. But in actuality, the system to be installed on the buses is much more complicated than those employed by a typical resident planning a car trip to Moncton. The bus system includes management interfaces to track bus and driver performance, record mishaps and “incidents,” and will be be able to handle future technology upgrades like the fare boxes and automated stop announcements.
Council additionally approved a tender award valued at $1.6 million to Trapeze, which will install the automated stop announcements after the AVL/CAD is successfully installed. These should be installed in about three years.
What does this mean for the typical rider? When the AVL/CAD system is up and running, riders will be able to see where their buses are in real time, and plan appropriately—no more waiting senselessly in an ice storm for a bus that won’t come for 20 minutes. The bones of the system will be open enough that anyone with the know-how can create their own apps for it, so expect a profusion of transit apps. After the automated stop technology is installed, an electronic sign at the front of the bus and a recorded voice over loud speakers will alert riders to the next stop.
In addition to the hardware and software services purchases approved Tuesday, council also approved a $2.35 million contract with Barrington Consulting to manage the technology upgrades at Metro Transit. The AVL/CAD and automated stop announcement systems are part of 33 technological improvements estimated to cost $35 million over the next three years. The improvements are financed through the 25-cent fare box increase implemented in the fall.
This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2014.
i’ll believe it when i see it up and working correctly and not before lol
I don’t ride the bus much. Last year in the dead of winter I waited an hour in the cold for a bus that I arrived at the bus stop 10 minutes before it was “scheduled” to arrive according to GoTime. Fuck you MT. Thank god for the marriage of cars and fossil fuels! (but yes, I do my day to day commute by bicycle)
The GPS bus data was available just months ago(http://eservices.halifax.ca/GoTime/departu…) but it didn’t seem like they wanted anyone using it. Then someone tried to use it as part of the Apps4Halifax contest and they shut it down.
They have yet to fully implement the real-time system – only 80% of stops are active; the rest rely on the scheduled times. And based on other media reports, the whole thing won’t be fully functioning for another three years!
Why is this news?