Dublin Bus On-Board Passenger Information

etchyed

I already posted this in one of the RTPI threads but I'm afraid it may not have been noticed there. Don't mean to spam but strictly speaking it's not the same thing as RTPI anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Hb2UaHM1o

I stumbled across this video on YouTube a couple of days ago showing a 123 bus with an on-board passenger information system, complete with next stop announcements. Having done some Googling, there are a couple of mentions of it on boards and on some of the more anoraky sites out there but not much concrete info. I have surmised that it's a limited trial, and that this is the only bus with audible announcements, although I'm aware there were some single deckers with just the LED scrolls before.

So a few questions arise, although most of them will probably remain unanswered. How many of these displays did Dublin Bus buy? Why record those audio announcements and then just install them on one bus? This video's nearly a year old, what's the outcome of this trial? Is that bus still on the 123 route, alone in announcing stops to its passengers? And of course, what's the likelihood of this ever becoming a feature on the whole Dublin Bus fleet?

I realise that this probably isn't on anyone's list of priorities in the current economic climate, but given that Dublin's public transport capital budget has just been slashed to the bone, it looks like we're facing into another 20-30 years of the bus being the backbone of public transport in Dublin. If that's to be the case it would be nice if people actually felt comfortable using it. I think it's a big mistake to underestimate the extent to which good information like this attracts and retains new public transport users. AFAIK lack of on-street information is Dublin Bus's biggest problem and that needs to be resolved more than anything else. But a system like this would, in my opinion, work wonders in improving the perceived efficiency, professionalism and ease of use of Dublin Bus services.

And no, I have no figures or studies to back up my assertions,, but my personal experience is that I often find it far easier to take buses to places I've never been in cities thousands of miles from home than I do to take unfamiliar bus routes in my home city of Dublin. These cities do not implement decent passenger information as a kind of vanity project. They do it because it has genuine value.

Also, much as I like bilingual announcements on trams and trains and think it's only right that the RTPI displays show destinations in both languages, the practicality of it in this instance would seem to be a bit problematic. Bus stops in Dublin are so closely spaced that announcing stops in both languages could result in a running commentary effect. With the limited amount of time that each bus stop name appears on a scrolling LCD screen, adding Irish could also negatively affect usability (I don't buy this argument in the case of on-street RTPI signs). The OLA is pretty clear-cut about recorded public announcements and signage though, so I don't really see a way around it. (I couldn't resist bringing this up but I really hope that this thread doesn't get hijacked by another Irish language debate trolling session. I'm really not intending to backseat mod here but I hope that people responding to this thread do so based on the whole topic in hand and not just the Irish-language issue. This is assuming, of course, tha anyone is even half as interested as me in the indisputably fascinating topic of bus stop announcements and can be bothered to reply.)

LXFlyer

Why don't you ask Dublin Bus on their facebook or twitter pages what was the outcome of the trial?

etchyed

Because there are plenty of people on boards who are more likely to give me a detailed answer. Thanks for your contribution.

LXFlyer

etchyed wrote: »

Because there are plenty of people on boards who are more likely to give me a detailed answer. Thanks for your contribution.

I wasn't being smart - that is genuinely the best place to ask. They have answered similar questions.

Mr Simpson

I tweeted it on dublinbusnews there, hopefully might get a response in the morning. AlekSmart may know about the trial as well

KD345

etchyed wrote: »

I stumbled across this video on YouTube a couple of days ago showing a 123 bus with an on-board passenger information system, complete with next stop announcements. Having done some Googling, there are a couple of mentions of it on boards and on some of the more anoraky sites out there but not much concrete info. I have surmised that it's a limited trial, and that this is the only bus with audible announcements, although I'm aware there were some single deckers with just the LED scrolls before.

Route 123 was chosen as the test route around 2009. The buses used on that route, single deck midi buses, were fitted with an internal display which scrolled the next approaching stop and the destination of the route. There was another bus (AV415) fitted with a display around 2006/2007 on Route 25A which also displayed approaching stops.

The single deck buses were withdrawn from service last year and have been replaced by double deck vehicles. In December 2010, one of these buses (EV37) was fitted with an internal display on both the upper and lower deck. This display also announces the next stop. Earlier this year another bus (EV38) was also fitted with displays, but no audio announcement . This bus has the displays in different positions, presumably as they're still testing the best place to fit the units.

During the summer, another vehicle (VG8) was fitted with a monitor on the upper deck. This bus had free WiFi/TV and was on trial on Route 122 for a week. I'm not sure, but perhaps this would be another way of displaying route information, similar to that on Airlink.

etchyed wrote: »

So a few questions arise, although most of them will probably remain unanswered. How many of these displays did Dublin Bus buy?

In July, Dublin Bus announced plans to purchase 1900 units.

etchyed wrote: »

Why record those audio announcements and then just install them on one bus?

This would be the normal procedure for any project like this. It's important to test out the announcements before rolling them out fleet wide. Any problems which need to be addressed can be tweaked before installing and fitting each bus.

etchyed wrote: »

Is that bus still on the 123 route, alone in announcing stops to its passengers? And of course, what's the likelihood of this ever becoming a feature on the whole Dublin Bus fleet?

Yes, this bus is still in service from Summerhill depot. The last few times I've been on it, the audio announcements have been switched off. The eventual plan is to have it rolled out on all buses.

etchyed wrote: »

I realise that this probably isn't on anyone's list of priorities in the current economic climate, but given that Dublin's public transport capital budget has just been slashed to the bone, it looks like we're facing into another 20-30 years of the bus being the backbone of public transport in Dublin. If that's to be the case it would be nice if people actually felt comfortable using it. I think it's a big mistake to underestimate the extent to which good information like this attracts and retains new public transport users. AFAIK lack of on-street information is Dublin Bus's biggest problem and that needs to be resolved more than anything else. But a system like this would, in my opinion, work wonders in improving the perceived efficiency, professionalism and ease of use of Dublin Bus services.

I agree, customer information can be hugely important in attracting new bus users. From what I can gather, this is being funded by the National Transport Authority, similar to the screens you see on the streets. There is no indication that this project has been abandoned, but with so many routes changing in the city they're probably waiting until Network Direct is complete before installing them on buses properly. It takes time to programme each route into the system. It would be a waste of time to programme a load of routes only for them to change.

The Maverick

Bus Eireann have had bilingual announcements, but no displays, operating on the 103 route for some time. It isn't used all the time but whether this is due to it not being installed on all the buses or just not being switched on I don't know.
It does suffer from a few errors such as announcing stops in the wrong location, omitting some stops and either being played too quietly or sometimes ear splittingly loud, which is quite annoying at 7.30 am on a Monday morning.