NXTBUS - Real Time Passenger Information System

[Barry Drive]

https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/app/forms/action_feedback

[triumph]

The on-board display and audio would be particularly useful to inform passengers of disruptions. Unfortunately this does not seem to be happening. Worse it is offering incorrect information too often.

By example, Westfield, Belconnen Bus Station was pre-planned closed for a week and by-passed with no tempoary stop. On five trips the on-board system continued to include Westfield as if operational. Very misleading. Then, just as I was thinking this was it, on the sixth trip, leaving the Community Station the Cohen St Station was announced with no mention of Westfield. Then back to as it was before.

So what is the problem and why is it inconsistent. Is the system too complex, the operators insufficently trained, apathy, ......? Whatever, it is an opportunity being missed for good customer service, and in the Westfield case,  particularly poor customer service of misleading information despite it being in the easiest category of a long pre-planned interruption to normal service.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

You should have a play of the last remaining NXTBUS Kiosk at Woden, it has its uses for finding out what bus is actually coming soon (unlike the screen above which'll show whatever it feels like and not all of what it's suppose to). But the main thing that's probably the another reason they were removing them is that it's slow - as in it shows when buses are coming, but later than real time. It was 8 minutes slow last year, and now it's 14 minutes lol.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Has anyone else noticed the bug in the screens on routes 65 and 171 recently? The one that's not showing the times for each point. Been that way the past week now, but only on those two routes so far that I've noticed.

[Bus 503]

I was on 672 last week and noticed that the driver's NXTBUS console was being projected onto the passesngers' NXTBUS board, so we (passengers) could see the driver's map and the lateness/earliness meter (+1:00 or -1:00 in green/red) instead of the usual list of stops and TC advertisements.

[Toyota Camry]

Anytrip is now tracking Transport Canberra buses and Deutsche Bahn light rail vehicles; it is also showing the fleet number for all vehicles at the below link.

https://anytrip.com.au/region/act

[Busfanatic101]

Anytrip is now tracking Transport Canberra buses and Deutsche Bahn light rail vehicles; it is also showing the fleet number for all vehicles at the below link.

https://anytrip.com.au/region/act

Very cool, does what nextup tried and failed to do, hopefully the fleet numbers won't disappear behind the paywall.

[Busnerd]

Nextup?

[Busfanatic101]

Nextup?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blacklime.NextUp

We never got realtime for Canberra (but it was available for Sydney I think), it had all scheduled services moving on a map. It doesn't seem to work anymore, and I don't think it had fleet numbers even for areas with realtime.

[Busnerd]

That link takes me to a Google Play 'Not Found' address, so perhaps the app has been removed?

[Busfanatic101]

That link takes me to a Google Play 'Not Found' address, so perhaps the app has been removed?

It does seem that may be the case, I can access that page because it's still installed on my device. Also explains why it no longer seems to work.
The website is still up if you're interested in what it used to do anyway http://www.blacklime.io/nextup.html

[Barry Drive]

Anytrip is now tracking Transport Canberra buses and Deutsche Bahn light rail vehicles; it is also showing the fleet number for all vehicles ..

The Anytrip android app has been updated to include Canberra (and other) realtime tracking.

Bike rack and air conditioning symbols are shown for buses in service (i.e. if shown, a bus is allocated to that trip).

[triumph]

The next bus text system is soooo unreliable.
Mon
Partner called from stop concerned had just missed bus (seen leaving stop). The service wanted was not due for about 5min so the one 'just missed' was previous service running rather late? Gave assurance bus still to come. Then decided to check:
9.51am texted '4092'. This is a stop on the R3 route with 15min service at this time of day.
9.51am response 'No departures in the next 90 minutes for the given parameters. For assistance call 131710 or check timetable information' No departures? What a misleading load of hogwash.
9.52am retexted '4092'.
9.52am response 'SPENCE SHOPS 3 Airport 09:54WB'. This was the expected service and it showed up.

Today
4.07pm texted '2824', again at 4.08pm, and 4.12pm. This stop is an R2 stop with 10min service at this time of day.
Responses: None at all.

Another example I am aware of was departures given for a stop not being served by route 66 which was being diverted (with alert notice in place in service alerts) due to road works.

Transport Canberra and predecessors have had years to get it right, yet users are still being subject to misleading and plain wrong responses, or no response at all. All very well for savvy users like bus enthusiasts, but for ordinary users it is unacceptable to give out wrong information. If the Next Bus text service can't be relied on, it should simply be shut down. No information is better than wrong information.

 
 

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Just use the Anytrip app instead, it's a lot more reliable, shows exact times and fleet numbers.
NXTBUS has never been reliable, only thing I ever use it for now is to identify if buses I'm after are Renault's or not (no wheelchair symbol detection) and that's mostly on the Woden kiosk which runs 42 minutes slow as I only have access to Anytrip from home (or ANU).

[Barry Drive]

If the Next Bus text service can't be relied on, it should simply be shut down. No information is better than wrong information.

The SMS service hasn't been mentioned in printed timetables for a while now, I can't find the details on the website and new bus stop blades don't show the text number.

So that may be the plan.

[triumph]

4.07pm texted '2824', again at 4.08pm, and 4.12pm. This stop is an R2 stop with 10min service at this time of day.
Responses: None at all.
 

Update. 3.38am today (almost 12 hours later) a response came 'No departures in the next 90 minutes ....'. Reasonable for time received.

The SMS service hasn't been mentioned in printed timetables for a while now, I can't find the details on the website and new bus stop blades don't show the text number.

So that may be the plan.

Interesting, the number is in my phone's contact list so I had had no reason to check.

Just use the Anytrip app instead, it's a lot more reliable, shows exact times and fleet numbers.
NXTBUS has never been reliable, only thing I ever use it for now is to identify if buses I'm after are Renault's or not (no wheelchair symbol detection) and that's mostly on the Woden kiosk which runs 42 minutes slow as I only have access to Anytrip from home (or ANU).

Thanks. 'Slow'? Another failure? I do have 'any trip' on one mobile, the other is too old but ok for texting. Habit stems from when that was the only mobile, and when it works it is very straightforward and quick. (I also tend to regard Transport Canberra as the 'official' source which therefore can be held accountable.)

[triumph]

The SMS service hasn't been mentioned in printed timetables for a while now, I can't find the details on the website and new bus stop blades don't show the text number.

So that may be the plan.

The details are on the website. Using a desktop running Windows and Chrome I found them as follows
Go to Transport Canberra web site
Select Getting Around then Help then Using NXTBUS and down the page is Use NXTBUS by SMS. The result should come up within 30 seconds and show the next 2 departures within the next 90 minutes. (So my example involving R3 was also a fail as only one departure was shown. Was omitting the number on new blades another fail too?)

[Bus 400]

The SMS system may be a bit defunct now. It can be interesting, for example SMS words like meal or depot or layover & it'll bring up options to pick.

SMS system also only picks up when a bus is logged into that run. Real time apps show everything. But only provide real time if a bus is allocated to that run.

The system probably is due for an upgrade, heck Transperth provided real time by updating the ticket machines. This may of been mentioned previously, but Sydney & regional NSW cities (& possibly other cities) have Dynamic bus stops. These are a tablet that list the next few runs & what runs go past that stop.

Sent from my SM-A716B using Tapatalk

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Well Anytrip has had a nice upgrade. Instead of trying to located desired buses you think were on a route, now you can. It's been updated to show all the routes preceding and continuing for selected routes. I know that's a big 'No No' on this forum, wonder if they're breaking any privacy laws doing that on there.

[Barry Drive]

Anytrip is showing it because it was included in the data feed.

But pointing it out publicly may cause TC to reissue the GTFS and remove that data.

[Toyota Camry]

Well Anytrip has had a nice upgrade. Instead of trying to located desired buses you think were on a route, now you can. It's been updated to show all the routes preceding and continuing for selected routes. I know that's a big 'No No' on this forum, wonder if they're breaking any privacy laws doing that on there.

The information provided is misleading to passengers; last week, I traveled between Ngunnawal Shops & Gungahlin Place on a 28 service, that was indicated in Anytrip that it 'continued' as an 18 to Dickson Interchange. This was the next trip on the driver's shift, however it is not a continuation of service in practice, as the bus did not convey passengers after the conclusion of the 28 service, and proceeded to drive to the layover area to wait around 15 minutes prior to returning to Gungahlin Place to commence an 18; this it not a through service as Anytrip is informing passengers, and this may create confusion with passengers believing they can sit on the one bus between Casey Market Town & Dickson.

[Busnerd]

I don't think any passenger would think two routes would combine in one by misunderstanding an app I dare so most non-gunzels wouldn't even use.

[verbatim9]

The Riot ACT---> New public transport ticketing system another step closer

[Barry Drive]

Optus 3G shut-down is due in September - that's less than 2 months away.

After that point there will be no real time bus tracking until MyWay+ commences in November. (How long the system will continue to operate on board the bus, but without a data connection, is not known. )