When Kanata resident Jonathan Huang arrived to catch a bus at the Eagleson Park & Ride, he nodded his head in approval when he noticed a new addition to the bus stop. Read MoreOC Transpo has introduced new screens with real-time tracking information at four bus stops, but some commuters are choosing to take the countdown projections with a grain of salt.
OC Transpo has introduced new screens with real-time tracking information at four bus stops, but some commuters are choosing to take the countdown projections with a grain of salt.
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When Kanata resident Jonathan Huang arrived to catch a bus at the Eagleson Park & Ride, he nodded his head in approval when he noticed a new addition to the bus stop.
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A new solar-powered screen has been installed beside the bus shelter, displaying route numbers and countdowns for the projected arrival of each bus.
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“Hopefully it’s accurate,” he said with a laugh as the screen projected a two-minute wait before his Route 62 bus to Tunney’s Pasture arrived.
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The transit information screen is one of four set up across the city as part of a year-long OC Transpo pilot project aimed to provide real-time bus information directly at stops. Screens have also been installed at Bank and Somerset, the Civic Hospital on Carling Avenue, as well as Bayshore Mall on Woodridge Crescent.
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The Evening Citizen
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Each physical device costs about $9,500, said OC Transpo spokesperson David Jones in an email.
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For Huang, who would usually text OC Transpo’s automated arrivals system for updates, he said the screen will save him from pulling out his phone each time he gets to the bus stop.
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Two minutes later, just as the screen had predicted, his bus pulled up to the stop.
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But while operating in a transit system that continues to fall short of reliability targets, many commuters said they’re choosing to take the information on the new screens with a grain of salt.
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Uzair Ahmed, a Kanata resident who was on his way to class at the University of Ottawa, said the information on the new screen was not consistent with the route he was following on Google Maps.
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While Google Maps predicted his Route 61 bus to Tunney’s Pasture would come in 7 minutes, OC Transpo’s screen showed the next bus on that route wasn’t scheduled for another 17 minutes.
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“It definitely adds a little bit of confusion,” Ahmed said as he cross-referenced the two systems at the Eagleson Park & Ride.
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Meanwhile, a Route 62 bus, which wasn’t projected to arrive for another three minutes according to the new screen, pulled up to the bus stop. Ahmed shrugged his shoulders as he got on the bus, which was also headed for Tunney’s Pasture.
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(The bus that he was originally planning to take then showed up five minutes later, two minutes before Google Maps predicted and 12 minutes before the new screen had indicated.)