WiFi on Buses - Does it matter?

Terry · 19-01-2010 10:01PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

WIFI on busses can lead to other "hidden" things.... Live CCTV surveillance from a central database used in conjunction with the GSM network.

This has been successfully tested in the UK and in other countries.

So some dick in a room full of monitors is watching you on the bus.
I really don't see the problem unless you're a nose picker.

I've said this 100 times before. Unless you're breaking the law, you have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to CCTV.

Mike 1972 · 19-01-2010 10:13PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

WIFI on busses can lead to other "hidden" things.... Live CCTV surveillance from a central database used in conjunction with the GSM network.

This has been successfully tested in the UK and in other countries.

Doubt the GSM network would have the bandwidth to carry video from hundreds of busses with any useable degree of resolution. Hell even the 3G network would struggle.

But Busses already have CCTV (recorded) knowing Dublin Bus its probably been using the same set of VHS tapes for the last 15 years

Terry wrote: »

I really don't see the problem unless you're a nose picker.

If the presence of other people on the bus isint going to deter one from picking their nose I dont see how some dick in a room full of monitors is going to ?

Run_to_da_hills · 19-01-2010 10:14PM

Terry wrote: »

So some dick in a room full of monitors is watching you on the bus.
I really don't see the problem unless you're a nose picker.

I've said this 100 times before. Unless you're breaking the law, you have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to CCTV.

If you had a son on the hop he wouldn't like it.

Jokes aside there could be instances where CCTV may not get the full story of an incident.

Someone abuses your missus but is not spotted by the cams at the time, a fight breaks out and the cams zoom in and your are banned from the transport system by a block on your smart card from the evidence of the CCTV footage.

Mike 1972 · 19-01-2010 10:23PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

banned from the transport system by a block on your smart card.

Couldnt you just pay cash ?

Terry · 19-01-2010 10:29PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

If you had a son on the hop he wouldn't like it.

Jokes aside there could be instances where CCTV may not get the full story of an incident.

Someone abuses your missus but is not spotted by the cams at the time, a fight breaks out and the cams zoom in and your are banned from the transport system by a block on your smart card from the evidence of the CCTV footage.

Well you really shouldn't be hitting someone just because they take the piss.
Take a deep breath and walk away.

If the guy hits your missus, chances are she is sitting beside you and the cameras will catch that.

aidan_walsh · 19-01-2010 10:32PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

WIFI on busses can lead to other "hidden" things.... Live CCTV surveillance from a central database used in conjunction with the GSM network.

This has been successfully tested in the UK and in other countries.

There are cameras on the buses now. What difference does it make if the driver is watching it or someone else is?

Mike 1972 · 19-01-2010 10:34PM

aidan_walsh wrote: »

What difference does it make if the driver is watching it or someone else is?

I would like to think the driver is watching the road TBH

bonerm · 19-01-2010 10:34PM

littletiger wrote: »

I think Wifi should be on all buses and trains. I am on a JJ Kavanagh bus at the moment and think it is the job.

Well I think all mobile phones should be switched off when getting on buses. You can turn it back on when you alight. Failing that it shall be confiscated by the driver.

Also if I can identify the song you are listening on your ipod then your device shall be confiscated for the duration.

aidan_walsh · 19-01-2010 10:34PM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

I would like to think the driver is watching the road TBH

Well, the obvious aside

banquo · 19-01-2010 10:35PM

Wifi everywhere would be great, but only sustainable in dense areas like Dublin. If eircom extended their public wifi citywide (never going to happen, at least not from eircom) then there'd be no need. 3g sucks, it's sort of an "emergency" Internet for checking your mail.

Cie, in any other country, would be right to fear technological redundancy. Not here though.

dermot_sheehan · 19-01-2010 10:39PM

How hard would it to ensure proper 3G coverage on the M1/N3/M4/M6/M7/M8/M9/M11?

That and have buses installed with €69 boxes like this http://www.three.ie/broadband/mifi.htm

FFS Irish Rail, it costs €69!!! One per train carriage plus a €20 per month vodafone subscription.

Run_to_da_hills · 19-01-2010 10:59PM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Doubt the GSM network would have the bandwidth to carry video from hundreds of busses with any usable degree of resolution. Hell even the 3G network would struggle.?

I know can barely stream a Utube video on a 7.2MPS GSM modem.

Im not sure what band with public transport uses but I am sure it is would need to be more powerful to cater for passenger, navigation, cashless smart card transactions and CCTV systems.

I haven't looked into the London Sytem but I'm sure the driver could stream a CCTV directly to the cops if he suspected hassle, prob through a panic button.

Mike 1972 wrote: »

But Busses already have CCTV (recorded) knowing Dublin Bus its probably been using the same set of VHS tapes for the last 15 years

Not any more, all Bus Eireann busses are equipped with the latest digital fish digital eye cams and are very accurate. Four downstairs, three up stairs and one foreword facing. The ones on the Luas are even more accurate.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 19-01-2010 11:02PM

I read books on busses and trains. It's me break from the internet. Can you lot not live without email and facebook and (God forbid:eek:) boards for half an hour?

Mike 1972 · 19-01-2010 11:05PM

Half an hour ? Youre not going very far are you...........

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Bus Eireann busses are equipped with the latest digital fish digital eye cams and are very accurate. Four downstairs, three up stairs and one foreword facing. The ones on the Luas are even more accurate.

Were they not worried about all this being obsolete in five years ?

phantom_lord · 19-01-2010 11:06PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

If you had a son on the hop he wouldn't like it.

Jokes aside there could be instances where CCTV may not get the full story of an incident.

Someone abuses your missus but is not spotted by the cams at the time, a fight breaks out and the cams zoom in and your are banned from the transport system by a block on your smart card from the evidence of the CCTV footage.

i'm pretty sure having cctv in place would be far more likely to help understand the full extent of an situation than without.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 19-01-2010 11:09PM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Half an hour ? Youre not going very far are you...........

How long do I need?

Run_to_da_hills · 19-01-2010 11:14PM

phantom_lord wrote: »

I'm pretty sure having cctv in place would be far more likely to help understand the full extent of an situation than without.

CCTV and registered smart cards have cut vandalism and assaults on London Busses by up tp 75% in three years in some districts.

Great benefits but it can all swing the other way if public transport ends up with the same type of paranoia as the airline industry.

aidan_walsh · 19-01-2010 11:20PM

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

I read books on busses and trains. It's me break from the internet. Can you lot not live without email and facebook and (God forbid:eek:) boards for half an hour?

I read my news feeds and occasionally download an album, podcast or ebook to enjoy while travelling. It gives me the choice of changing what I am doing at a moment's whim should I want to and doing it faster over Wifi would be very nice indeed.

phantom_lord · 19-01-2010 11:24PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

CCTV and registered smart cards have cut vandalism and assaults on London Busses by up tp 75% in three years in some districts.

Great benefits but it can all swing the other way if public transport ends up with the same type of paranoia as the airline industry.

ha can you imagine having to be ready to board an hour before your bus, taking off your shoes and going through metal detectors!

Linku · 19-01-2010 11:30PM

Weren't they able to identify the bomber who blew up the bus on Tavistock Sq in the July bombings from CCTV? I don't have a problem with the video being streamed back to a central location...

I can see CIE's point about the trains, with mobile broadband getting faster and cheaper, people will probably just get their own, might not be worth the investment.

Mint Sauce · 19-01-2010 11:34PM

feda o'donnell has it on a few of their buses in the NW, tis brilliant, definatly passes the time on a journey

Run_to_da_hills · 19-01-2010 11:49PM

phantom_lord wrote: »

ha can you imagine having to be ready to board an hour before your bus, taking off your shoes and going through metal detectors!

It won't quite come to that but it will be close. Soon you will not be able to board any bus or train without an embedded smart card.

If you are a suspect the smart card will reveal what you had for breakfast to the authorities when you touch in when boarding the bus, they can then zoom in on you with the CCTV.

If someone has a suspect package or looks suspicious the authorities can run a profile from the information read on the smart card when they boarded.

There will eventually be no cash option so basically if you fool about you can forget traveling on any network that is compatible with the system as you would be electronically locked out.

Sounds far fetched? TFL is already getting quite close to the above. ( BBC 2003)

simonw · 19-01-2010 11:50PM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

FFS @ Irish Rail :rolleyes:

While they're probably wrong about this, I'd rather they have a policy of waiting than upgrading right away. They might be right to wait for wimax, I don't know how well mobile broadband works when it goes through a tunnel, and I've no idea what mobile broadband coverage is like outside of Dublin.

And 70 euro per train carriage, times all the train carriages in Ireland, times an ongoing cost of 20 euro a month each isn't particularly cheap for a convenience.

Mike 1972 · 19-01-2010 11:51PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

It won't quite come to that but it will be close. Soon you will not be able to board any bus or train without an embedded smart card. ......There will eventually be no cash option so basically if you fool about you can forget traveling on any network that is compatible with the system as you would be electronically locked out.

So if I go abroad on holidays and want to travel around whatever city Im visiting how is all this smart card suff going to work ?

Terry · 20-01-2010 12:24AM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

It won't quite come to that but it will be close. Soon you will not be able to board any bus or train without an embedded smart card.

If you are a suspect the smart card will reveal what you had for breakfast to the authorities when you touch in when boarding the bus, they can then zoom in on you with the CCTV.

If someone has a suspect package or looks suspicious the authorities can run a profile from the information read on the smart card when they boarded.

There will eventually be no cash option so basically if you fool about you can forget traveling on any network that is compatible with the system as you would be electronically locked out.

Sounds far fetched? TFL is already getting quite close to the above. ( BBC 2003)

I've atached a picture showing that there is no mention of breakfast found in that Seven year old article.

Run_to_da_hills · 20-01-2010 12:24AM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

So if I go abroad on holidays and want to travel around whatever city I'm visiting how is all this smart card suff going to work ?

I wouldn't take much to flash a personal ID card to take to firmware is necessary for a particular transit system. They all use the same 13.56mhz frequency, same goes for the new Irish driving license.

It would make a lot of sense sense to use the one ID / Travel card for everything and everywhere.

Mike 1972 · 20-01-2010 01:20AM

the new Irish driving license

A driving licence to use the bus...........................

Run_to_da_hills · 20-01-2010 01:30AM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

A driving licence to use the bus...........................

Yes and I would guess also quite a lot of other uses including the new social welfare card. read last paragraph

In the United States you need your driving license to buy beer FFS. :rolleyes:

starbelgrade · 20-01-2010 01:39AM

Wi-fi on buses - f*ckin' 'ell.. we don't even have buses out my way!

Overflow · 20-01-2010 02:34AM

They have it on most buses over here in Norway, soon to introduce it on the trains aswell. Tis pretty handy when on a long bus trip.

WiFi on Buses - Does it matter?

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