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iBus
Sept 4, 2007 20:17:21 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2007 20:17:21 GMT
Just to give you an idea - I have done a dozen London trips where I start my first bus journey for the Coach Station at 0630 and get home at 2200.
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iBus
Sept 5, 2007 16:53:52 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2007 16:53:52 GMT
3.) How does it sound? What are the lines in the ibus for bus routes? (other words, what does it include?) It... sounds... very annoying... travelling more...than a few stops on... Route... 243... ;D It can be handy if you're new to an area and are looking for a specific stop along the way but it is very wearing if you are travelling a long distance (i.e Bruce Grove to Theobald's Road). Thankfully, some drivers turn the sound off but you can still see the information on the screen. It also tells drivers warnings of low bridges along the way (warning... low.. bridge... to your right... at Sperling... Road), but sometimes as a passenger we hear these messages as well It can be too much to hear after a long day's work... I don't know how the drivers manage to put up with it... I never hear it working on the W4 or 318 though... I guess it depends where the beacons are fitted along the route. I guess it means the 318's now have a fancier 'bus stopping' sign than before and that's it ;D I wouldn't have thought that the W4 and 318 were any different from any other route in London. The latest update announces the stop at Addington Street... pity there is no bus stop on Addington Street! Also, there's been a whole new load of low bridge warnings, but for the most part, if you were to go under these bridges, the damage would have been done before you reached them - eg, you would have had to fall off the Waterloo Bridge first.
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iBus
Sept 19, 2007 21:58:35 GMT
Post by gal06 on Sept 19, 2007 21:58:35 GMT
I got on a 123 tonight from Ilford, it was a long VWL, and it had the new ibus system installed on it, the first time I had boarded a bus with this on.
My initial thought were of surprise when I heard it, because the gaos are rather lengthy between words, and the stop is announced without a "Next Stop" that would draw your attention to the following announcement.
I dont know what they are like on darts and Tridents, but on VWL's, the upperdeck information screens are viewed via a modified "Bus stopping" sign on top of the front windscreen. "It will sau something like "123 to Wood Green" or "Valentines Park" on the top row of text, and if the bell is rung, it is displayed underneath this.
Overall, Im going to disagree with a lot of the comments on here and say that I think ibus has been well thought out, and despite the gaps its pretty useful.
Do any of you remember a similar system being used on route 101 (the single deckers that were the first low-floor buses to London from 1994) when it operated between Wanstead and North Woolwich? I actually thought the text on them were brighter and more clear, but the voice was so annoying! It would say "Next stop, Market Street". It would be very loud and interupt anyone trying to read. This system was operated by road-side beakons along the route, not satalite like the ibus system.
I think ibus isnt very loud, they have deliberately only turned them up so people who want to hear it can, and the announcements are short and brief, to minimise annoyance.
If I was designing the system, I would have only had announcements for major stops, like bus stations and Underground and National Rail stations, plus the terminus'. I guess they had to include all stops for those passengers that are blind, and the text for deaf passengers.
I actually like the announcment of the route and destination. How many times have you run for a bus, got on it, and been turfed off because it is operating a short working? For that reason, announcements are important I think.
Has anyone been on a bus that gets to the end of the route? What do they announce? Is it something like "This bus terminates here, please take all your personal belongings with you. All change please"? - Gareth.
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iBus
Sept 19, 2007 23:17:39 GMT
Post by jrussa on Sept 19, 2007 23:17:39 GMT
The last line sounds like my favourite central line
" This is Woodford, where this terminates. Please mind the gp between the train and the platform. All change please, this train now terminates here. Please take all your belonging with you when you leave the train"
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iBus
Sept 20, 2007 10:02:48 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2007 10:02:48 GMT
Until the last change was made to iBus, the last stop was automatically heralded with "this bus terminates here", but this no longer happens (until it is changed back, I hope). Therefore, you have to go into the passenger announcement menu, and choose "this bus terminates here, please take you belongings etc". Also, there seems to have been a problem with programming curtailments, so if you got a Mansion House turn, you definitely don't want "Route 76 to Waterloo", so it gets switched off.
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iBus
Sept 20, 2007 20:10:01 GMT
Post by gal06 on Sept 20, 2007 20:10:01 GMT
I think this is a well throught out system as I said and has potential. The announcements are clear but are brief so as not to annoy people, but if the problems, that I have yet to witness, are true, thn surely TfL should not roll this out until these flaws are perfected. For the money being invested, it should and Im sure can be, near to perfect.
As a matter of interest, is this system only compatible for vehicles with speakers? i.e. Arriva buses, and East Thames? Stagecoach / East London vehicles have hardly any. Where would the sound come from? - Gareth.
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iBus
Sept 21, 2007 8:35:58 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2007 8:35:58 GMT
Apart from the float buses at Tottenham, all vehicles are iBus fitted. However, newly refurbished VLW 191 and DLA 204 (apparently AR bound) have not re-entered service because they cannot be iBus fitted, as the programme has come to a halt, due to problems with iBus. So, how come Transdev buses are being done?
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iBus
Sept 23, 2007 9:36:25 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2007 9:36:25 GMT
Got a surprise on Friday, on my first half bus. Two new passenger announcements were added (#15, 16). One was telling passengers that revenue inspectors frequently check these buses (?), and the other one, I forget. I was going to make a proper note on my second bus, but, sod's law, it didn't have them. The point of this ramble is, these two messages were read out by a bloke! Definitely prefer the lady's voice.
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iBus
Sept 23, 2007 10:38:31 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2007 10:38:31 GMT
The London iBus is very annoying. The voice is patronising and the pauses just does me 'ead in. The Startrak system used on Trent Barton's buses is a lot better. The tone is more natural and there aren't annoying pauses. Talking about pauses, there are instances when they are needed, for example, Stoke Newington High Street. I'd be inclined to put in a pause before High Street. The repeated 'route 41 ... to ... Archway' is a bit too much IMO - that's one line that isn't needed. Also, rather than announcing stops upon arrival, they should announce 'next stop...' upon departure. The announcements are pretty much totally unnecessary and are very annoying and confusing. They should just use the display normally saving voice announcements for special messages such as the bus being diverted or curtailed. It's another ill thought out TfL system. There is enough noise in London without adding to it. If you are going more then a few stops the constant loud stilled announcements are too much.
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iBus
Sept 23, 2007 17:05:28 GMT
Post by ServerKing on Sept 23, 2007 17:05:28 GMT
Apart from the float buses at Tottenham, all vehicles are iBus fitted. However, newly refurbished VLW 191 and DLA 204 (apparently AR bound) have not re-entered service because they cannot be iBus fitted, as the programme has come to a halt, due to problems with iBus. So, how come Transdev buses are being done? When is DLA 204 coming to AR? Will DLA 140 be sent back to Norwood when that happens? I noticed a change on the iBus on a 243 yesterday, it just said "243...to...Wood Green" so I think they are still tweaking the system so it's not so annoying... ;D Still yet to see it working on a 318 or W4, though...
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iBus
Sept 23, 2007 18:13:50 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2007 18:13:50 GMT
I understand DLA 204 will be at AR when it gets iBus. DLA 140 will revert to being an iBus float bus, probably. I have heard iBus working on W4s, so I guess drivers usually switch it off.
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iBus
Sept 29, 2007 11:07:29 GMT
Post by M1104 on Sept 29, 2007 11:07:29 GMT
The London iBus is very annoying. The voice is patronising and the pauses just does me 'ead in. The Startrak system used on Trent Barton's buses is a lot better. The tone is more natural and there aren't annoying pauses. Talking about pauses, there are instances when they are needed, for example, Stoke Newington High Street. I'd be inclined to put in a pause before High Street. The repeated 'route 41 ... to ... Archway' is a bit too much IMO - that's one line that isn't needed. Also, rather than announcing stops upon arrival, they should announce 'next stop...' upon departure. The announcements are pretty much totally unnecessary and are very annoying and confusing. They should just use the display normally saving voice announcements for special messages such as the bus being diverted or curtailed. It's another ill thought out TfL system. There is enough noise in London without adding to it. If you are going more then a few stops the constant loud stilled announcements are too much. I've seen the display screen on a 94 bus, i though they'd be bigger than that (for the sake of short sighted people). I'm assuming the verbal announcements are for the blind, thought i do agree the "noise" can be anoying. I used to hear it all the time on the Northern Line whe those new trains came out.
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iBus
Sept 29, 2007 12:10:38 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2007 12:10:38 GMT
The announcements are pretty much totally unnecessary and are very annoying and confusing. They should just use the display normally saving voice announcements for special messages such as the bus being diverted or curtailed. It's another ill thought out TfL system. There is enough noise in London without adding to it. If you are going more then a few stops the constant loud stilled announcements are too much. I've seen the display screen on a 94 bus, i though they'd be bigger than that (for the sake of short sighted people). I'm assuming the verbal announcements are for the blind, thought i do agree the "noise" can be anoying. I used to hear it all the time on the Northern Line whe those new trains came out. It's a novelty at first but rapidly becomes a very annoying nusience. I can see TfL getting lots of complaints about it. The visual display is perfectly adequate
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iBus
Sept 29, 2007 21:25:25 GMT
Post by Madstuntman on Sept 29, 2007 21:25:25 GMT
I've seen the display screen on a 94 bus, i though they'd be bigger than that (for the sake of short sighted people). I'm assuming the verbal announcements are for the blind, thought i do agree the "noise" can be anoying. I used to hear it all the time on the Northern Line whe those new trains came out. It's a novelty at first but rapidly becomes a very annoying nusience. I can see TfL getting lots of complaints about it. The visual display is perfectly adequate Not if you're blind!!! ;D
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iBus
Sept 29, 2007 23:55:29 GMT
Post by jrussa on Sept 29, 2007 23:55:29 GMT
I think this IBUS should only have the screen thingy. No sound!!!
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