Almost all Greater Sudbury Transit buses have been outfitted with an audio and visual next-stop announcement system that will take the guess-work out of transit.
Since September, Greater Sudbury Transit has worked on setting up an automated stop announcement system on its bus fleet. It offers both audio and visual notification of the next scheduled stop, and is designed not only to benefit individuals with disabilities, but all riders.
The stop announcement system was purchased from Nova Bus, a division of Volvo Group Canada Inc., and cost roughly $536,000 for the initial 45 units. This project has been funded through the city by provincial funding for capital transit expenditures.
The preliminary goal of installing the system is to help the visually impaired, according to Jean-Yves Vallée, product manager at Nova Bus.
“The first step is to encourage visually impaired people to take the bus and (for them) to know where they are on the routes.”
Each bus has a GPS antenna and a cylinder connection, according to Vallée. The antenna knows where the bus is, and the connection tells the GPS how far the bus has traveled. Together, the two paint a realistic picture for Sudbury Transit headquarters on where the buses are currently on their route, and for passengers that will eventually mean an accurate reading on when their bus will arrive.
Bruno Lafortune, city driving instructor, sits at the wheel of a city bus which is equipped with a call-out system display to help drivers. Photo by Ed Veilleux.
“Each bus reports to the city and the city can know where the buses are at all times, and also if the bus is running late or early,” Vallée said. “Once the systems are built up (with data), the city can adjust its timetables accordingly to get better service.”
There are 45 buses currently equipped with the technology, and the 15 buses that aren't will be used primarily for service where stops don't have to be announced, such as shuttle service or express routes, according to Roger Sauvé, director of transit services.
Another eight systems will be installed in buses in the spring and then the last seven will be installed the following spring, to bring all city buses in line.
The system is being tweaked for perfection, and bugs are being worked out, according to Vallée.
“The system that is up and running today is very reliable,” said Sauvé.
The director of transit said the system will allow Sudbury to pursue new public transit initiatives. Vallée outlined a possible use for the system that has been implemented in other places in the world.
“The next step (is) to give that information to the passengers that are not on the bus through websites and cellular phone technology. That's already in use in our systems in other cities, in Sweden. Instead of standing at the bus stop, (people) can dial in a bus stop number or name and they'll know when the bus will be there, in real time. It's based on the actual bus position.
For northern Ontarians, with the weather in Sudbury, Vallée said the system would be great.
“Instead of having to wait at a bus stop in the snow, like today, they can be in the luxury of their home or their office.”
Greater Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez said the system will benefit all transit users.
“Our new stop announcement system is a tremendous benefit to Greater Sudbury Transit riders,” Rodriguez said. “It not only offers increased independence to individuals with disabilities, but it also makes our entire transit system more user-friendly by removing the guess-work from taking the bus.”
