How actively are electronic displays at bus stops used to provide updates?

[TUC]

The ones in West Yorkshire do show real time tracking.

And yet it was in West Yorkshire where the situation in the OP had taken place.

 

[AY1975]

Two features of those bus stop indicators can easily catch someone out. They often carry on showing a bus as "due" for up to a minute after it has left or passed the stop, and sometimes they show a bus as due in 2 or 3 minutes even though it's only a few seconds away (and even as it can be seen coming).

 

[riceuten]

Two features of those bus stop indicators can easily catch someone out. They often carry on showing a bus as "due" for up to a minute after it has left or passed the stop, and sometimes they show a bus as due in 2 or 3 minutes even though it's only a few seconds away (and even as it can be seen coming).

This is interesting - and proves - I’m Hertfordshire’s case - that it probably bases it ‘s predictions on distance. We have a bus -in Stevenage - the 390 - that does a circular route at one end round an estate, and then heads back to Hertford/Ware. The real time display at the bottom of the estate where I live shows a countdown to one minute when the bus comes from Hertford, then changes to 2, then 3 minute as it loops round Ripon Road, then counts down again to ‘Due’ as it heads to St Nicholas. Very confusing if you don’t know what’s happening.

 

[edwin_m]

This is interesting - and proves - I’m Hertfordshire’s case - that it probably bases it ‘s predictions on distance. We have a bus -in Stevenage - the 390 - that does a circular route at one end round an estate, and then heads back to Hertford/Ware. The real time display at the bottom of the estate where I live shows a countdown to one minute when the bus comes from Hertford, then changes to 2, then 3 minute as it loops round Ripon Road, then counts down again to ‘Due’ as it heads to St Nicholas. Very confusing if you don’t know what’s happening.

There is a similar route in Nottingham that doesn't have this problem, so it's likely to be a limitation on the specific system used or it is not set up correctly.

 

[riceuten]

There is a similar route in Nottingham that doesn't have this problem, so it's likely to be a limitation on the specific system used or it is not set up correctly.

That is almost certainly the case in Herts, as I have seen it on other routes as well - Hitchin St Mary's Street for one.

Bizarrely, the one area that does NOT have real time information (and really needs it, given the level of cancellations) is the main bus station in Stevenage - go figure.

 

[jon0844]

Intalink like to drive their minibus around the county to inform the public about things, but they can't say anything about the screens and how they work or seemingly feedback any queries - nor do they respond on social media or other avenues. I guess they know the information is very limited and flawed in so many ways, and it is beyond their control to fix.

They still can't product up to date posters for stations which show bus information from 2016-2019 at many locations. Buses long since axed.

 

[riceuten]

I met some of the staff a bit back - all 2 of them. I suspect this is the reason, not idleness or fecklessness

 

[jon0844]

It's a shame that the country can't solve this issue (it's bigger than county by county). My son now walks home from school because his bus often doesn't turn up, or the next or the next.

He uses the bus operator app and bustimes.org (some buses only appear in one app to further confuse matters) and sees no bus as he walks so knows they didn't run.

Occasionally, but most usually not, the Twitter/X feed apologies for the next bus or two not running. It is now so frequently happening, usually with no information and the timetables just showing the scheduled times that it must be a nightmare for all the pupils who can have to wait 90 minutes or more for a bus - and never really know if one is coming.

And these are buses that support live tracking - so at the very least a service that stops sending information should trigger something to require further investigation, which could then have someone manually displaying delayed or cancelled.

If calling the bus company direct, after being on hold for 20+ minutes, all they can do is apologise and say that yes a bus is cancelled - but have no way to update the displays at bus stops or the data sent to the apps.

And the worst thing is some buses don't track, so you can't always just assume it isn't running.

 

[riceuten]

It's a shame that the country can't solve this issue (it's bigger than county by county). My son now walks home from school because his bus often doesn't turn up, or the next or the next.

He uses the bus operator app and bustimes.org (some buses only appear in one app to further confuse matters) and sees no bus as he walks so knows they didn't run.

Occasionally, but most usually not, the Twitter/X feed apologies for the next bus or two not running. It is now so frequently happening, usually with no information and the timetables just showing the scheduled times that it must be a nightmare for all the pupils who can have to wait 90 minutes or more for a bus - and never really know if one is coming.

And these are buses that support live tracking - so at the very least a service that stops sending information should trigger something to require further investigation, which could then have someone manually displaying delayed or cancelled.

If calling the bus company direct, after being on hold for 20+ minutes, all they can do is apologise and say that yes a bus is cancelled - but have no way to update the displays at bus stops or the data sent to the apps.

And the worst thing is some buses don't track, so you can't always just assume it isn't running.

The problem is that there are no consequences to companies who do not have the staff or buses to run the service, least of all to the management taking little or no action to address any of these issues. If I read local social media, it's depressing how many people follow the usual narrative of "lazy bus drivers" and even taking them to task about not wanting to work overtime to cover staff leave or sickness absence.