The wheels of the NXTBUS go round and round

joingler said :

It seems to be inaccurate also. Had one screen tell me it would take 14 minutes to get from Yerrabi Pond to Gungahlin Town Centre and another claim It was a 15 minute ride from Cohen Street to the Community Bus Station.

I noticed this today too. I don’t know whether the time indicators on the buses are supposed to be fully operational or not, but they just don’t update the time to the next stop at all. Seems like someone’s loaded the timetable in, and that’s what the screens show regardless of whether it’s accurate or not.

So this afternoon, I was arriving at stops along Southern Cross Drive, and the display was telling me the next stop 300 metres down the road was 7 minutes away. The system updated the location ok, but the time was fixed. Really hope that’s not the way things will stay.

davo101 said :

I hope this bit from the FAQ is true:

Will there be an official NXTBUS App?

No. However ACTION buses will make all data freely available allowing App developers to design their own Apps.

Sadly, it’s been an uphill battle. When we asked for the data, we got a console log dump with no specifications at all. We’re still trying to get in touch with the right people, but whats clear is that the open-source data is an afterthought at best.

ML-585 said :

There are many apps around which support real-time monitoring (for those cities which have it). Since NXTBUS is using an off-the-shelf product, it should be a simple matter for the app to turn on the feature, once ACTION release the data onto the internet. Meanwhile, if you use the SMS service, you can get pseudo real time data from the buses which have the system active.

I don’t see the need for ACTION to release its own app (and thus spend more public money) when free apps already exist.

We’re all for saving money, but there can’t be a hands off approach. It makes it easier for developers to build things if they are built on standards (like GTFS or SIRI for the real-time stuff), but if there are going to be quality apps out there, it needs support from the Government.

davo101 said :

I hope this bit from the FAQ is true:
No. However ACTION buses will make all data freely available allowing App developers to design their own Apps.

There are many apps around which support real-time monitoring (for those cities which have it). Since NXTBUS is using an off-the-shelf product, it should be a simple matter for the app to turn on the feature, once ACTION release the data onto the internet. Meanwhile, if you use the SMS service, you can get pseudo real time data from the buses which have the system active.

I don’t see the need for ACTION to release its own app (and thus spend more public money) when free apps already exist.

joingler said :

The other handy point is knowing what buses have wheelchair accessibility. This is a handy bit of info for everyone as wheelchair buses are air conditioned and non wheelchair buses are not (this is a general rule, not an absolute).

For now anyway. There is at least one wheelchair-accessible but non-air conditioned bus with the system installed.

joingler said :

As someone who is 100% reliant on the buses, NXTBUS has been a mixed bag.

The audio on buses is plain annoying and often too loud. It seems to be inaccurate also. Had one screen tell me it would take 14 minutes to get from Yerrabi Pond to Gungahlin Town Centre and another claim It was a 15 minute ride from Cohen Street to the Community Bus Station.

On the other hand, being able to text for the next bus at a stop has helped me judge which buses are running late/cancelled to help me organise myself better. The other handy point is knowing what buses have wheelchair accessibility. This is a handy bit of info for everyone as wheelchair buses are air conditioned and non wheelchair buses are not (this is a general rule, not an absolute). So in the case of multiple routes going to where I want, I then have a choice of waiting an extra 2 minutes at the stop to get on an air conditioned bus.

This will be a lot handier when all buses are equipped with the software.

Indeed. I’m one of the testers and the SMS thing works well. Except my daily route is one of the ones that is normally serviced by dinosaur buses that aren’t equipped for it yet so I end up getting schedule info only.

Coincidentally, it is a route where one or two drivers frequently think nothing of being a full 5 minutes ahead of schedule and never stop to wonder why they only have half the passenger load they normally have. However, I must say @ACTIONbuses have been responsive to reports via Twitter, even checking in-bus video playbacks to confirm these reports and counsel drivers.

magiccar9 said :

“This testing process is similar to that used for the successful implementation of the MyWay ticketing system in 2010″

So is Rattenbury factoring in 1 year of ups and downs like commuters experienced with the MyWay system following it’s ‘successful’ implementation. Every second bus had problems with the machines where they either simply didn’t work, or wouldn’t let riders ‘tag off’ when they exited – thus charging them the full fare. They seem to have ironed out the niggles now, but I’d hardly call it successful at implementation.

Let’s see if they manage to get it right this time around.

There were certainly some teething issues with MyWay, but I’m not sure your assertion that half of all buses had problems for a year is quite right.

JC said :

Many bus companies make their data freely available (biggest one that comes to mind is TfL in London), though it is surprising they don’t at least commission their own app.

It can be done, as Transperth (what I consider as the leader in running public transport in Australia) have released their own app for Andriod. While it may only be in the testing stages, their app will also show live tracking off buses on what buses have it. With the trains having had live tracking for a while.

As someone who is 100% reliant on the buses, NXTBUS has been a mixed bag.

The audio on buses is plain annoying and often too loud. It seems to be inaccurate also. Had one screen tell me it would take 14 minutes to get from Yerrabi Pond to Gungahlin Town Centre and another claim It was a 15 minute ride from Cohen Street to the Community Bus Station.

On the other hand, being able to text for the next bus at a stop has helped me judge which buses are running late/cancelled to help me organise myself better. The other handy point is knowing what buses have wheelchair accessibility. This is a handy bit of info for everyone as wheelchair buses are air conditioned and non wheelchair buses are not (this is a general rule, not an absolute). So in the case of multiple routes going to where I want, I then have a choice of waiting an extra 2 minutes at the stop to get on an air conditioned bus.

This will be a lot handier when all buses are equipped with the software.

Many bus companies make their data freely available (biggest one that comes to mind is TfL in London), though it is surprising they don’t at least commission their own app.

“This testing process is similar to that used for the successful implementation of the MyWay ticketing system in 2010″

So is Rattenbury factoring in 1 year of ups and downs like commuters experienced with the MyWay system following it’s ‘successful’ implementation. Every second bus had problems with the machines where they either simply didn’t work, or wouldn’t let riders ‘tag off’ when they exited – thus charging them the full fare. They seem to have ironed out the niggles now, but I’d hardly call it successful at implementation.

Let’s see if they manage to get it right this time around.

I hope this bit from the FAQ is true:

Will there be an official NXTBUS App?

No. However ACTION buses will make all data freely available allowing App developers to design their own Apps.