Riding the bus in the Comox Valley just got a bit easier.
Wednesday, BC Transit, along with representatives from the Comox Valley Regional District, officially launched NextRide - a real-time bus location technology that provides customers with current data on the location of their bus and predicted arrival time at a stop.
“We’re making our buses smarter,” said Neil Corbett, program manager for SmartBus for BC Transit. “There’s no more waiting at the bus stop worrying, ‘Has the bus left? Is it already there? Did it come early?’ ”
In addition to riders using their phones to see the location of their bus, inside the buses, each stop will be visually displayed on an LED board and audibly announced as well.
Corbett added after Nanaimo, the Valley is the second community in the province to receive the technology on its fleet, with all 13 buses outfitted with NextRide.
Christy Ridout, acting vice-president, business development for BC Transit, explained the program is a partnership between the federal, provincial and local governments.
“Fifty per cent of this entire program is shared with the federal government through their transit infrastructure program, and 33 per cent is through the provincial government and 17 per cent is through our local partners.”
The total installation will cost $6.74 million across the province.
Ridout said the data collected is invaluable for the planning and scheduling side of BC Transit’s operation.
“We use that information - it tells us where the demand is, where people are getting on and off, their routes. We use that, along with the information that comes from the real-time, from a scheduling perspective, to make sure we are putting routes in where people want them, when they want them, and if we can get the information for the run times to make sure they’re correct.
“We’re constantly adjusting those behind the scenes so we can give our customers a better experience.”
To use the service, click on the NextRide button at BCtransit.com/comox-valley.