BusTalk Forum Index BusTalk
A Community Discussing Buses and Bus Operations Worldwide!
 
 BusTalk MainBusTalk Main FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups BusTalk GalleriesBusTalk Galleries   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Passenger information

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    BusTalk Forum Index -> General Bus Forum - All Bus Topics
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
marc444
Guest






PostPosted: Thu Feb 03, 2022 4:06 pm    Post subject: Passenger information Reply with quote

Hello,
My name is Marc Moll. I was told that you are the right person to contact when it comes to the history of bus transportation
Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to get information on this subject.
I had a discussion with a friend about bus transportation in the 70's, especially in the 80's and 90's. I will also be giving a presentation on this topic (public transportation) in class.

My first question is: When did buses start having automatic announcements and stop displays?

Before there were automatic stop announcements and displays ( 1970/1980s), did the bus driver have to announce the stops over the microphone?
Did the bus drivers also do this when they had to announce the stops themselves? Was this also done in practice?
Or how was a passenger supposed to know where the next stop was?

Did the bus drivers in the 1970/1980/1990s always announce the stops without being asked?
How high would you estimate the rate of bus drivers who announced the stops?

I am interested in this from all cities and countries

Many greetings

Marc
Back to top
Runcutter




Joined: 06 Jan 2011
Posts: 8
Location: Carrollton, Texas

PostPosted: Sun Feb 06, 2022 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Marc, you might look at the website of Clever Devices for background. They were the leader (or one of the leaders) in the "talking bus" category. In the United States, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 required transit to adapt service to make it accessible to passengers with disabilities.

In the late 1970's and into the 80's, the focus was on wheelchair lifts and the like -- but generally with a "separate but kind of equal" paratransit service. Gradually, fixed route buses became accessible. The industry struggled with mainstreaming disabled passengers into fixed route service, as wheelchair lifts and securing dramatically increased stop dwell time -- slowing service for all passengers. Low floor buses, ramps instead of wheelchair lifts, and advancements in wheelchair securement have lessened this impact.

Then, the Americans with Disabilities act was passed, superseding Section 504. Among other things, ADA had a requirement for bus operators to "announce major intersections and transfer points."

Obviously, this was tough to enforce, so gradually the "talking bus" took over. Clever Devices' website discusses this happening in the 1990's, which does comport with my memory. However, with over 50 years in the transit business, events do run together, so it's tough to pin down the timing.

The "talking bus" evolved (or devolved) into advertising, marketing, and "infotainment". But at least the major goal was reached -- announcing locations and coming stops. That, and other downstream needs such as the GTFS, Google Transit Feed Specification, resulted in much basic scheduling information having to be modified and added to, and AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location), and APC's (Automatic Passenger Counters) have required even more info.

So, it's not a simple matter, much time and money has been invested (or poured in). It also has to be maintained. I've done quite a bit of work on On-Time Performance (and literally "wrote the book on OTP), and one of the issues has been gathering the information from the on-bus electronics -- starting with ensuring that the geolocation data is correct.

I hope this helps with your research.

Arthur
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    BusTalk Forum Index -> General Bus Forum - All Bus Topics All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group