Why don't NYC buses have automated stop announcements?

[ChickenPotPie]

Nearly every major and midsized city in North America has ASA on their buses. Hell, even Detroit has them! What's stopping NYC from equipping buses with ASA? I understand it may be expensive and time-consuming to equip older buses, but even the newer buses like the XD40 and LFS don't have them. What gives?

[Guest MTA Bus]

They used to be Clever Devices on the M34 & M34A, but they were disabled when they were equipped with Bus Time

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Good question... I've also seen them on the M57... They had the time, the stop and sometimes an automated announcement.  I've heard them on some express buses, but it seems as if that is done by the B/O himself.  There's a guy that does the BxM2 that uses them when you get on telling you what bus it is, etc. and you can hear it from outside as you get on.  A few BM3's have used it too, but it seems as if it's a rarity.  With the express buses though it was just an automated announcement telling you what bus it was.  It wasn't used for the actual announcement of the bus stops.

[Fresh Pond]

Good question... I've also seen them on the M57... They had the time, the stop and sometimes an automated announcement. I've heard them on some express buses, but it seems as if that is done by the B/O himself. There's a guy that does the BxM2 that uses them when you get on telling you what bus it is, etc. and you can hear it from outside as you get on. A few BM3's have used it too, but it seems as if it's a rarity. With the express buses though it was just an automated announcement telling you what bus it was. It wasn't used for the actual announcement of the bus stops.

Any driver with any bus can do that with the SpeakEasy (or SpeakEasy 2 for the newer buses). You can pre-record anything and it'll play on the outside whenever the doors would open

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Any driver with any bus can do that with the SpeakEasy (or SpeakEasy 2 for the newer buses). You can pre-record anything and it'll play on the outside whenever the doors would open

That much I figured, hence why I said what I said, but the M57 set up was different.  

[Orion VII 4 Life]

Oh boy, I get to explain this again!

 

MTA for whatever reason never got them. There were numerous trials actually with different companies' systems, the M34 trial was from Clever Devices and included their BusTime shstem, but the trial ran out last year and MTA took all the equipment out in favor of MTA BusTime. Had MTA bought CD's BusTime, we would be seeing auto announcements on all the buses that got BusTime equipped. MTA BusTime isn't stopping them from having auto announcements though, a few cities including DC/WMATA use open-source tracking systems and still have the auto announcements from amother vendor. Plus every new bus we get has a CD computer for their Automatic Vehicle Monitoring/diagnosis system and can easily be modified for auto announcements.

 

I'm sure we'll get them soon enough, we're the last major TA in the nation without them.

[Interested Rider]

The reason that NYC does not have them is that it is something that the public wants and would be an instant hit. The insulated  bureaucrats who run the system has not had the lightbulb in their heads go off  yet and say that it is a good idea to improve the system. After all if they listened to their workers and members of the public, the system would be more efficent and more user-friendly which is not what they want to do.

 

This is what happens when they listen to their political friends and not to us..

[QM1to6Ave]

I thought some of the newer MCI and Prevost express buses had some automated announcements? I might be totally wrong here. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I thought some of the newer MCI and Prevost express buses had some automated announcements? I might be totally wrong here. 

They do, but not automated stops.... In fact those newer express buses used to drive me up a wall!! Damn BM3 bus... Every 5-10 minutes with the automated announcements about the fare and the assault on a bus operator like we're the ones not paying the fare or assaulting bus drivers...  They must've received numerous complaints because I don't hear them anymore.

[Orion VII 4 Life]

The reason that NYC does not have them is that it is something that the public wants and would be an instant hit. The insulated  bureaucrats who run the system has not had the lightbulb in their heads go off  yet and say that it is a good idea to improve the system. After all if they listened to their workers and members of the public, the system would be more efficent and more user-friendly which is not what they want to do.

 

This is what happens when they listen to their political friends and not to us..

Exactly!

 

I thought some of the newer MCI and Prevost express buses had some automated announcements? I might be totally wrong here. 

Every bus with the Clever Devices system (every one since the first Orion VII NGs) has those "PSA" announcements and "please exit through the rear door". 

 

the M34 trial was from Clever Devices and included their BusTime shstem

Just pointing that out as a typo, not calling CD BusTime shit or anything btw.

[knice1187]

When I went to do my 19a training in November we asked the vp of training why we don't have automated announcements. He said that's the next thing they are going to be working on once bus time is set up in each borough.

[R32sdabest]

They should use the Clever DEVICES announcements like NICE Bus. I can imagine already.

[FamousNYLover]

Don't forget, even the airport shuttle buses at JFK and LGA has automated announcement indicators.

[Orion VII 4 Life]

Don't forget, even the airport shuttle buses at JFK and LGA has automated announcement indicators.

Yeah, Port Authority has them on every airport bus (well the ones they run) at JFK/LGA/EWR. And it's not just them. Every other major TA in the country uses them. NJT, CTA, WMATA, MBTA, LACMTA all have them.

[Jamesp071]

I read an article about the smart bus system in New Zealand. It not only can inform us whether the bus's coming, bit also can tell the bus driver what's going on his bus. Maybe we should introduce this system to all buses in New York.

Here goes the part of the article:  

 

Wellington bus drivers will have the quality of their driving monitored by new technology, which will keep an eye on poor behaviour such as speeding, harsh braking and rough cornering. The new system would alert drivers when they were approaching the safety or efficiency thresholds NZ Bus had set for particular behaviors.

 

For each different behaviour a visual signal would start out green, changing to amber when the threshold was being approached and then to red when it was crossed, NZ Bus chief executive Zane Fulljames said.

 

The system was part of a broader training programme for drivers that would increase their skills and deliver smoother journeys for commuters, while reducing fuel emissions and the physical wear and tear on buses, he said. If you want to know this kind of system. Here goes the brief introduction of the system.

There’s also some positive talk about the system. If you want to know more about the news. Please find the site below.

 

Source : http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10908988

 

[Orion VII 4 Life]

 

I read an article about the smart bus system in New Zealand. It not only can inform us whether the bus's coming, bit also can tell the bus driver what's going on his bus. Maybe we should introduce this system to all buses in New York.

Here goes the part of the article:

Wellington bus drivers will have the quality of their driving monitored by new technology, which will keep an eye on poor behaviour such as speeding, harsh braking and rough cornering. The new system would alert drivers when they were approaching the safety or efficiency thresholds NZ Bus had set for particular behaviors.

For each different behaviour a visual signal would start out green, changing to amber when the threshold was being approached and then to red when it was crossed, NZ Bus chief executive Zane Fulljames said.

The system was part of a broader training programme for drivers that would increase their skills and deliver smoother journeys for commuters, while reducing fuel emissions and the physical wear and tear on buses, he said. If you want to know this kind of system. Here goes the brief introduction of the system.

There’s also some positive talk about the system. If you want to know more about the news. Please find the site below.

Source : http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10908988

A bit similar to the technology from Clever Devices in place in NJ, Nassau County and countless other places, though I don't think they offer the driver notifications.

 

MTA is working on another "in-house" Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system called Bus Trek that should be able to provide that sort of information to dispatch, though I'm not too sure about the full scope of the info provided but I would say chances are it will provide far less detailed information than CleverCAD and other more widely used CAD systems such as exact speeds and all that, but I could be wrong. It will work using data from MTA BusTime.

 

As for the auto announcements that apparently will be coming soon, around the time BusTime is rolled out to most/all of the city is when the TA will be working on it more. We will likely see Clever Devices as the vendor for this project, but we'll have to see.

[Vistausss]

They do, but not automated stops....

 

I know of one that does. I saw a video recently of an MCI Express Bus that had automated stop announcements.

Yeah, Port Authority has them on every airport bus (well the ones they run) at JFK/LGA/EWR. And it's not just them. Every other major TA in the country uses them. NJT, CTA, WMATA, MBTA, LACMTA all have them.

 

Not all major TAs. AFAIK Metro in Oklahoma City doesnt have automated stop announcements and OC is a major city.

[Orion VII 4 Life]

I know of one that does. I saw a video recently of an MCI Express Bus that had automated stop announcements.

 

That vid might have been an NJ Transit MCI.

[46Dover]

Hmmm I do believe I was on a 5000 Series Articulate bus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan a few years back with actual automated announcements a'la Clever Devices, but I don't recall which route it was

[Fresh Pond]

Hmmm I do believe I was on a 5000 Series Articulate bus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan a few years back with actual automated announcements a'la Clever Devices, but I don't recall which route it was

It was on the M15...that was a test

[aemoreira81]

One has to wonder why announcement systems cannot simply work on the mileage (dead reckoning). One don't need all of the routes in the system programmed in - one could simply do it by division. You would need 12 programs, because you need to adjust for revolutions per mile between high-floor and low-floor buses

 

1. Manhattan and Bronx local- high floor

2. Manhattan and Bronx local - low floor

3. Queens (NYCT) local - high floor

4. Queens (NYCT) local - low floor

5. Queens (MTA Bus) local - high floor

6. Queens (MTA Bus) local - low floor

7. Brooklyn local - high floor

8. Brooklyn local - low floor

9. Staten Island local - high floor

10. Staten Island local - low floor

11. NYCT express

12. MTA Bus express

 

Send one high floor bus, one low floor bus, and one MCI out on every route's normal route to conduct this.

 

NICE's announcement system (presuming the buses still have them) work on dead reckoning. When the O7s came in, the programs ran fast on the low floors.

[Vistausss]

Automated announcements using GPS, when properly set up, work better than on dead reckoning in my experience.

[Around the Horn]

@aemoreia81 I would suggest a Brooklyn-Staten Island program because you never know when they would swap or when a S79 could randomly cover a B1 run which I think happened a few years back

[Orion VII 4 Life]

One has to wonder why announcement systems cannot simply work on the mileage (dead reckoning). One don't need all of the routes in the system programmed in - one could simply do it by division. You would need 12 programs, because you need to adjust for revolutions per mile between high-floor and low-floor buses

 

1. Manhattan and Bronx local- high floor

2. Manhattan and Bronx local - low floor

3. Queens (NYCT) local - high floor

4. Queens (NYCT) local - low floor

5. Queens (MTA Bus) local - high floor

6. Queens (MTA Bus) local - low floor

7. Brooklyn local - high floor

8. Brooklyn local - low floor

9. Staten Island local - high floor

10. Staten Island local - low floor

11. NYCT express

12. MTA Bus express

 

Send one high floor bus, one low floor bus, and one MCI out on every route's normal route to conduct this.

 

NICE's announcement system (presuming the buses still have them) work on dead reckoning. When the O7s came in, the programs ran fast on the low floors.

It's inaccurate especially if the bus goes off route. The new Clever Devices on NICE's 3G Orions are GPS based. Clever won't sell the odometer based system except to current customers of the old system not willing to upgrade, NICE probably purchased the new units because so the units would be compatible with Clever's BusTime product, and we could see them expanded to the entire fleet when BusTime is purchased which should be soon.

It was on the M15...that was a test

Yup a test run by $iemens.

[Around the Horn]

I love how you used the dollar sign