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Audio/visual "next stop" announcements on buses
- Thread starter geoffk
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DanielTheEMid
Member
- Joined
- 13 Mar 2019
- Messages
- 103
The Red Arrow team leader did that when trialling out a scania I6S (Turns out he voiced the automated systems too.) https://www.instagram.com/p/C7Z02u6NUEd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== One thing you can hold up signs as well.
I was not suggesting this as the primary solution or reversing the burden.
I was somewhat tongue in cheek
Pointing out that there was a technology a passenger could utilise if the provision made by the operator failed or was not available for some reason.
I accept I should have made this clearer in my original response.
niconico
Member
I worked on something like this myself because I got frustrated with the lack of compliance (most of the buses in my city are too old to comply yet and they still haven't for ones that will soon), ended up publishing it publicly and asked people to test and it seemed to work well (I'm unsure if I'm allowed to share it here, self advertisement and such lol) so I don't see why operators can't do this. I get it's disallowed for PSVAIR itself but I don't see why it can't be an additional thing to be honest.
Because it might require effort, and there seems to be an overwhelming view within transport that if things require effort it's unreasonable to expect them to be done.
Cesarcollie
Member
- Joined
- 5 Jun 2016
- Messages
- 820
More likely that it’s a huge cost. For an independent (or any operator) with 50 buses it’s a cost of £100k-£200k to supply and fit (depending on mix of SD, Dd, and whether fitting is in-house or bought in). That’s a lot of money, and doesn’t include the resource to programme, keep updated, or maintain.Where does i
the money come from? Not arguing it’s a bad thing. But it’s not free, and has consequences…..
I often think it would be highly informative for those who criticise bus operators to spend a week in the ops room and see what happens in day to day operations.
What seems so simple has so many points of potential failure.
sytransport
Member
Smaller operators are eligible for grants towards kit, bigger operators can afford it. Programming can be done by anybody who is willing to learn the systems.
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Don’t forget it’s also unreasonable for change to happen, people can’t stand that.
Cesarcollie
Member
- Joined
- 5 Jun 2016
- Messages
- 820
Grants only available for less than 20 buses (and even then not 100%). The programming is quite technical- not ‘anybody’ is capable of learning it. Possibly easier for younger generations who are on average more IT savvy - but they also need an ability to spell. And even when ‘anybody’ has learned how to do it, it’s incredibly time consuming. It is likely ‘anybody’ will already have a full time role in the business, unless you are advocating employing an extra person and funding more £££ to do it.
satters
Member
it is a disproportionate cost, for a minority of users, that in my opinion frustrates the majority, some of these so called enhancements certainly disrupt my usage, and it has to be paid for by someone too
py_megapixel
Established Member
Apparently not! One of my local routes has at least two mistyped stop names.
Cesarcollie
Member
- Joined
- 5 Jun 2016
- Messages
- 820
Apologies. Let me correct that. ‘Should have’ an ability to spell!
sytransport
Member
Think you’ll find the stop names come from NaPTAN, so if they’re spelt wrong, blame whoever is in charge of NaPTAN in your area!
If you’re doing it properly, you’d correct the typo before putting it on your buses, and give the LA a nudge to correct it at source too.
markymark2000
On Moderation
Not always. Or if it does, it may come from a very old version of Naptan. Stagecoach Chester was one example where they set it up earlier this year, and it was using a naptan that was years out of date, as it was referencing businesses that had long gone. At least 2 years of records of Naptan showed there was nothing in there naming these stops after the ceased businesses (nor any other fields referencing these places). You can only imagine how many changes they had missed if it was over 2 years old!
A quick scan of the legislation too has no mention of Naptan and so while Naptan would be a logical way of populating the stops database for the announcements/screens, there seems to be no obligation to use it.
sytransport
Member
Naturally you’d assume it’s correct, especially for larger operators who potentially serve thousands of stops which let’s be honest nobody is spending their time spellchecking on behalf of the local authority.
We do - it appears on our buses to our passengers!
sytransport
Member
How many stops do you serve?
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I don’t disagree these things should be checked but like I said, some operators serve thousands of stops and the information provided in NaPTAN should be correct, including spelling. Sifting through that number of stops can take up a lot of time.
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Still not being in compliance with a legislative change that came into force nearly a year ago is nothing to do with day to day operations.