wrote:

It is possible along any bus route to see small grey boxes atop a
post, which sometimes have a bright yellow sticker attached to them.
Every time a bus passes one of those posts, it sends a signature
signal to the control centre, which in turn allows the control centre
to know busses' locations at all times. I also undertsand that there
is a large screen in the command centre that can see busses'
movements.

Those are for the original Countdown system which, if memory serves,
averaged the time taken for the last three buses to cover a certain
stretch to predict waiting time.

iBus features GPS tracking, updated every 30 seconds or so, to keep
track of where the bus is, thus providing much more accurate information.

HTH,

Barry

On Jan 28, 10:33 pm, Paul Corfield wrote:
The driver also has a module in the cab with a display that also shows
in real time whether the bus is early or late. I noticed this for the
first time on a 192 and was genuinely surprised at how neat the unit
was.

Encouraging the driver to drive irresponsibly, and in some cases,
downright dangerously, overtaking other road users before pulling in
30 yards later, hounding vehicles off the road, blasting their horn
while stationary and at a red light, etc. etc.

On Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:15:52 -0800 (PST), sweek
wrote:


The driver also has a module in the cab with a display that also shows
in real time whether the bus is early or late. *I noticed this for the
first time on a 192 and was genuinely surprised at how neat the unit
was.

The system can obviously track the service over the whole day and the
collation of operational statistics should help to improve future
timetables. Once it becomes clear how each route performs on a typical
day as well as in unusual conditions then schedules will be able to be
tweaked to make services more reliable and resilient.

All of this sounds very neat. I hope some of this data will become
available to the public, too.

There is a little "cartoon" that explains the basics of the system.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/proj...ment/2373.aspx

The direct information may not be published but the route by route
statistics should show if there is a discernable change in performance.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/businessan...oroughreports/


Have any of the iBus' advanced countdown timers popped up around
London yet?

I haven't seen any if they going to look different to existing ones nor
have I seen an obvious expansion in the existing style of display unit.
I heard a vague rumour that the bus stop display element was somewhat
delayed but that may be incorrect. I think the new units are supposed
to "talk" as well as provide a visual display and this may be causing
some concern given the apparent complaints about on bus noise. If there
was a stop in a residential area with a frequent service there may be an
endless stream of announcements - 24 hours a day if the service was 24
hours or covered by day and "N" routes.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

On Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:12:32 -0800 (PST), Paul Weaver
wrote:

On Jan 28, 10:33 pm, Paul Corfield wrote:
The driver also has a module in the cab with a display that also shows
in real time whether the bus is early or late. I noticed this for the
first time on a 192 and was genuinely surprised at how neat the unit
was.

Encouraging the driver to drive irresponsibly, and in some cases,
downright dangerously, overtaking other road users before pulling in
30 yards later, hounding vehicles off the road, blasting their horn
while stationary and at a red light, etc. etc.

Which I-Bus equipped route have you witnessed the above behaviour on
then?
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

In message , Paul Corfield
writes
I haven't seen any if they going to look different to existing ones nor
have I seen an obvious expansion in the existing style of display unit.
I heard a vague rumour that the bus stop display element was somewhat
delayed but that may be incorrect. I think the new units are supposed
to "talk" as well as provide a visual display and this may be causing
some concern given the apparent complaints about on bus noise. If there
was a stop in a residential area with a frequent service there may be
an endless stream of announcements - 24 hours a day if the service was
24 hours or covered by day and "N" routes.

Not 24 hours but there were certainly complaints in residential areas
around some of the Midland Metro stations (Black Lake for one) when that
service began in 1999.

Talking bus stops aren't new, either. They had them in the late
eighties in Weston-super-Mare, opened in a fanfare by Lynda Chalker
(whatever happened to her?) But intended mainly for the visually
impaired.

They didn't last.

I can fully see the use of services like iBus, making it almost as easy
as the tube to navigate if you're a stranger (or even if you're not).
I confess to being a bit irritated by announcements, though. A
continuing advertising loop on a Blackpool tram years ago drove me truly
*loopy* en route from Fleetwood to the Central Promenade. I'll reserve
judgement on how it affects my enjoyment of London bus riding until I've
experienced it, though.

--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

On Jan 28, 8:22 am, Dusty Shelves wrote:
Well, apart from traffic levels & overcrowding of course. I have to
suffer this damn incessant voice almost every day...
Why?
I hope there is some kind of backlash against it!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4991326.stm

It's called an iBus because you MUST wear an iPod while you're on it.

I simply can't understand why the iBus must announce what bus it is and
to where it's going each and every time the bus door closes. Surely the
people who are blind either have carers to tell them which bus is
approaching and whether or not to board it, and if the blind person
doesn't have a carer (or even if they're not blind) and can't see the
bus number on the front of the bus as it approaches, surely they can
simply ask the driver what bus it is, and to where it's going???

It simply doesn't make any sense to tell the passengers who are already
on the bus which bus number it is and its destination. Surely TfL
shouldn't add to noise pollution that is already at a peak when babies
are crying, chavs are shouting, and kids play music through their mobile
phone loudspeakers!! When this happens the people must talk louder to be
heard, and people listening to headphones need to turn them up louder if
they don't want to hear the bothersome and unnecessary announcements.

Ok, having the announcements on the lower deck might be a good idea,
(the volume should at least be reduced for crying out loud.... it was so
loud upstairs that my plastic chair felt like it was resonating) but for
what other purpose are the announcements upstairs made, other than for
blinde people? Let's assume that I'm a blind person wanting to go
upstairs... Now I'm a person with perfect sight and reasonable strength
to hold on to things when the bus makes sudden stops. But even I have
fallen over on my knees when walking upstairs or downstairs, so I have
no idea how a blind person would cope! And even if they do go upstairs,
they'd definitely need a carer to assist them not to kill themselves,
and so wouldn't a carer be able to read the display that informs the
passengers where they are / where they're going???

None of this is thought through, and it seems TfL have no idea about
what stress these cause to many people.


--
peikko
Message Origin: TRAVEL.com

peikko wrote:


None of this is thought through, and it seems TfL have no idea about
what stress these cause to many people.



On the other hand, it's much less stressful on a crowded bus where you
can't necessarily see reference points outside if the bus tells you
where the next stop is. This is doubly true in rainy weather where the
windows might be covered in drops or partly steamed up.

I don't find iBus remotely stressful, personally. It's also useful if,
say, you can remember which bus stop you're getting off at but not
necessarily the layout of the route approaching it. You just wait until
the bus announces it, then get off at the next stop. This also works if
someone unfamiliar with your area is coming over, you just tell them the
name of the bus stop to look out for.

Tom

On 19 Jan, 02:00, Tom Barry wrote:
peikko wrote:

None of this is thought through, and it seems TfL have no idea about
what stress these cause to many people.

On the other hand, it's much less stressful on a crowded bus where you
can't necessarily see reference points outside if the bus tells you
where the next stop is. *This is doubly true in rainy weather where the
windows might be covered in drops or partly steamed up.

I don't find iBus remotely stressful, personally. *It's also useful if,
say, you can remember which bus stop you're getting off at but not
necessarily the layout of the route approaching it. *You just wait until
the bus announces it, then get off at the next stop. *This also works if
someone unfamiliar with your area is coming over, you just tell them the
name of the bus stop to look out for.

Tom

Another couple of weeks and this thread could have been resurrected
after no activity for exactly a year. What is the record?

Tom Barry wrote

peikko wrote:

None of this is thought through, and it seems TfL have no idea
about
what stress these cause to many people.

On the other hand, it's much less stressful on a crowded bus where
you
can't necessarily see reference points outside if the bus tells you
where the next stop is. This is doubly true in rainy weather where
the
windows might be covered in drops or partly steamed up.

I don't find iBus remotely stressful, personally. It's also useful
if,
say, you can remember which bus stop you're getting off at but not
necessarily the layout of the route approaching it. You just wait
until
the bus announces it, then get off at the next stop. This also works
if
someone unfamiliar with your area is coming over, you just tell them
the
name of the bus stop to look out for.

Once on board I do find the repeated announcement slightly annoying so
perhaps a slight improvement would be to make it only if someone has
boarded ?

However I recently noted a logical flaw which affects the above. When a
stop is closed it is still announced but there is no announcement at
the previous stop.

Thus "The next stop is The Dysart"
press bell
burst of music, then "The next stop is closed"
Then the normal announcement "The next stop is closed"

(observed on 65 Kingston-Richmond 10 am Sat 10 Jan)

If the walk back is much the same as the walk from the previous stop
this doesn't matter much but here the next stop for the 65 is 500 m on
and for the 371 it's 600 m and at the top of Star & Garter hill.

So I suggest "The next stop is Petersham Fox & Duck", "The following
stop is closed" and/or "also alight here for The Dysart".

This didn't affect me since when the bus halted at the temporary
traffic lights the driver stretched a point and let me off anyway -
thanks.

--
Mike D