Anybody who rides the city bus in Windsor will notice some changes at their bus stops shortly.
Transit Windsor will be putting up new signs at bus stops that include a Stop ID, a phone number and a number to text. It is so riders can get real-time information about when the bus should arrive.
"This technology will give transit riders access to real-time information from their smartphone or computer regarding the location of their bus and its expected time of arrival," says Executive Director Pat Delmore.
On the buses, riders will hear automated stop announcements. This should improve service for visitors to Windsor and riders who are visually impaired.
"We expect all 112 buses, and 1,200 bus stops to be completely changed over by early 2017," says Delmore. He says installing the hardware on city buses is expected to start next month.
Transit Windsor will also monitor the system and get feedback from users to further tweak the technology.
The upgrades are expected to cost $2.7-million, and Delmore admits the project is a long time coming.
"We received the funding for it a couple of years ago and [city] council approved the vendor in 2015," he says. "There was no off-the-shelf system that we were able to buy. All of the technology is being built specifically for Windsor."
The system is already available in many Canadian cities which Delmore says was an advantage because they were able to use their best practices and avoid some of the pitfalls they faced when they installed their technology.
