Is it true?

Chinasea

I was late into work 3 mornings last week as my bus turned up dead late. I was airing my frustration in work and was saying that even if I knew the bus was going to be another 10 mins late I could handle it and commented on the fact that so many other counries have digital displays at the bus stops indicating the arrival time of the buses. One of the engineers at my work said that the fibre optic cables have been laid to many of the stops but the UNIONS will not allow them be connected up? Does anyone know if this is true?

Zoney

I don't know, but if you are referring to buses in a city outside Dublin, i.e. Bus Éireann city bus, you can check the next bus on whensmybus.ie (works on smartphones - low data usage too) or look-up an SMS code beforehand for your stop and text that to receive a response with the next bus. (Not sure why these SMS codes aren't posted on the stops!)

I think there are plans to finally roll out something in Dublin.

I've seen next bus information displays up North even! Hope they appear here soon - makes the bus stops more useful (especially e.g. where walking to the next stop you have buses from another route joining, but you are unsure whether to walk on in case you miss a bus at your current stop).

call the police

check out http://www.transportfordublin.ie/projects/avlc-rtpi/

presoccer

call the police give out the good info

call the police

how do you post the little thanks symbol under a post ?

presoccer

call the police wrote: »

how do you post the little thanks symbol under a post ?

hah... i used quete now

corktina

(thumbs up symbol , right hand corner)

Certainly in Reading UK they have a display on the bus stop which tells you when your bus is due..i dont know if its real-time info or just the timetable though. Seems very acurate from experiance (maybe their buses just run on time....)

Chinasea

Yes, I was referring to Dublin buses - I was for waiting for my connecting bus in O'Connel Street. I have seen them at the bus stops in London and many countries in Europe at least 20 years ago and the times displayed are in real time as opposed to timetables (which are a bit of a joke if you use Dublin buses).

call the police

corktina wrote: »

(thumbs up symbol , right hand corner)

Certainly in Reading UK they have a display on the bus stop which tells you when your bus is due..i dont know if its real-time info or just the timetable though. Seems very acurate from experiance (maybe their buses just run on time....)

it's real time info as this is becoming standard use, also a lot of buses in the uk have the next stop name underneath the "bus stopping" sign, similar to LUAS.
ps have you heard the next stop announced on bus eireann buses

-Chris-

call the police wrote: »

how do you post the little thanks symbol under a post ?

I think you need a certain amount of posts before you can use the "Thanks" feature (10 or 25 posts or something).

irishdub14

They've just put up displays at Howth Road/Sybil Hill Junction (Raheny) after re-doing the whole road and bus stops. They look just like dart ones but smaller and not as bulky and there not turned on yet.

Chinasea

could this actually be progress? is there a bit of hope?

KC61

This topic has been done to death here. It has nothing to do with union opposition.

To have on street displays the system of controlling the buses needs to be operational. Currently the entire Dublin Bus fleet is having GPS equipment installed which will make this possible. This should be completed by the end of the year.

This will enable Real Time Passenger Information online, via mobiles, on board buses and on street.

Dublin City Council is responsible for rolling out the on-street displays. They are going to trial this and the Howth Road location is one such site, before progressing with the rollout at busier stops across the network. I would say that rollout will take place next year.

thomasj

I hope the mobile and website part is done sooner than next year!

KC61

thomasj wrote: »

I hope the mobile and website part is done sooner than next year!

It is dependant on AVLC being fully complete - that will take probably the rest of 2010.

BrianD

KC61 wrote: »

This topic has been done to death here. It has nothing to do with union opposition.

To have on street displays the system of controlling the buses needs to be operational. Currently the entire Dublin Bus fleet is having GPS equipment installed which will make this possible. This should be completed by the end of the year.

This will enable Real Time Passenger Information online, via mobiles, on board buses and on street.

Dublin City Council is responsible for rolling out the on-street displays. They are going to trial this and the Howth Road location is one such site, before progressing with the rollout at busier stops across the network. I would say that rollout will take place next year.

Are they cabling the bus stops are will the data be broadcast wirelessly to each stop. Seems that it would be an expensive operation to hard wire each bus stop to supply information to the displays.

markpb

BrianD wrote: »

Are they cabling the bus stops are will the data be broadcast wirelessly to each stop. Seems that it would be an expensive operation to hard wire each bus stop to supply information to the displays.

Perhaps they will connect them underground to the nearest phone exchange? As far as I know, this is how the traffic signals are connected to SCATS.

KC61

BrianD wrote: »

Are they cabling the bus stops are will the data be broadcast wirelessly to each stop. Seems that it would be an expensive operation to hard wire each bus stop to supply information to the displays.

That I don't know.

However just to point out that not every stop will have a display - just the busier locations.

monkeypants

Urgently needed. I've noticed over the past number of months that the online timetables for my local buses are complete fiction.

KC61

monkeypants wrote: »

Urgently needed. I've noticed over the past number of months that the online timetables for my local buses are complete fiction.

I don't think that anyone disputes that the technology is needed.

What routes are you using out of curiosity?

dowlingm

In Toronto they have started rolling out a GPS solution by a firm called NextBus, beginning with downtown streetcars. In Dublin GPS should be easier to implement because of the low-rise nature of the skyline not interfering with transmitters, whereas in Toronto's financial district the abundance of 30-60 storey buildings meant GPS repeaters had to be mounted to provide enough data points for triangulation.

The thing is - one of the services NextBus provides is mapping, so you can follow where each vehicle is online. This mysteriously disappeared early in the trial phase in Toronto, which I'm sure had nothing to do with the fact that significant amounts of vehicle bunching was almost always apparent...

Victor

markpb wrote: »

Perhaps they will connect them underground to the nearest phone exchange? As far as I know, this is how the traffic signals are connected to SCATS.

No, the council has its own extensive fibre optic network. Anytime a phone company dug up a road, they put in their own duct and then wired it up.

L1011

If DCC are responsible for the displays, does this mean they will cease outside city boundaries?

Displays at, for instance, Liffey Valley would be extremely important; not to mention points used as modal interchanges (Bray DART station, Leixlip Louisa Bridge) that aren't even in the *county* let alone the city council area.

KC61

MYOB wrote: »

If DCC are responsible for the displays, does this mean they will cease outside city boundaries?

Displays at, for instance, Liffey Valley would be extremely important; not to mention points used as modal interchanges (Bray DART station, Leixlip Louisa Bridge) that aren't even in the *county* let alone the city council area.

No - the QBN office is at DCC but is responsible for the entire greater Dublin area working with the other local authorities.

They will extend beyond the city council boundaries across the bus network.

eejoynt

I saw a scree with a windows based interface mounted above the validator on a 16A there last saturday - presumably all part of the grand plan

hope there is a marketing effort is aimed at non bus users especially off peak who now probably call a taxi. If people knew a precise bus arrival time they might use it and save the money for drink.

dowlingm

eejoynt wrote: »

I saw a scree with a windows based interface mounted above the validator on a 16A there last saturday - presumably all part of the grand plan

I imagine a flickr picture of said screen with a Blue Screen Of Death is only weeks away

KC61

eejoynt wrote: »

I saw a scree with a windows based interface mounted above the validator on a 16A there last saturday - presumably all part of the grand plan

hope there is a marketing effort is aimed at non bus users especially off peak who now probably call a taxi. If people knew a precise bus arrival time they might use it and save the money for drink.

No that is for the Airlink service - they have several ads for their tours that they play on the 747 and 748. There are a couple of spare buses to cover for maintenance and they are generally on the 16/16a.

Victor

KC61 wrote: »

No that is for the Airlink service - they have several ads for their tours that they play on the 747 and 748. There are a couple of spare buses to cover for maintenance and they are generally on the 16/16a.

Also, they have a screen connected to the CCTV camera looking at the luggage area any time the bus is stopped.

eejoynt

KC61 wrote: »

That I don't know.

However just to point out that not every stop will have a display - just the busier locations.

when will the equipped stops appear on the google map on the DB website?

KC61

eejoynt wrote: »

when will the equipped stops appear on the google map on the DB website?

Why would the equipped stops be listed on the website?

To try and clearly explain this:

Currently the entire fleet is being equipped with the necessary GPS equipment to facilitate the rollout of the Automatic Vehicle Location and Control (AVLC) system. This will enable controllers at the new centralised control centre in Broadstone to see exactly where every bus is on a particular route, and compare its location with where it ought to be.

When this is complete (hopefully later this year) this will then enable the rollout of real time passenger information online and via mobiles whereby once a user knows the bus stop number where they are waiting, they will be able to check when the next bus should arrive at that stop. The ability to do this is dependent on the rollout of AVLC being completed - as the latter also requires detailed control schedules to be prepared this is a big task, but is currently ongoing.

At the same time, Dublin City Council are now installing trial on-street displays which are going to go on test. This should then lead to a rollout of displays at 500 of the busiest stops next year across the city.

dfx-

OP, it might not be true and you may get a bus stop with an update if you're lucky, but chances are you'll have been disciplined several times over for being late before it happens

It's great to have though, I'm currently in Munich and every single tram/bus/u-bahn/s-bahn rural outpost stop in or outside the city limits is timed to perfection with displays. It makes a great difference - hold out..

monkeypants

KC61 wrote: »

I don't think that anyone disputes that the technology is needed.

What routes are you using out of curiosity?

I don't use any out of curiosity, I mostly use them because I have to get into the city centre. 41 and 41C out of Swords.