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TTC: Next Bus/Streetcar Arrival System

W. K. Lis said:
Remember that the application is in BETA testing. That means changes can and will occur, since it not the "real" application until it is has been tested after looking for problems to be fixed.
Click to expand...

This is certainly true but it has been in Beta Testing for a VERY long time and it is surely about time it moved to the 'final version". It was originally supposed to be final last summer, now it is supposedly "April 2011".
 
Looks like it's back this morning ...

I noticed last night that I didn't see a working Next Train monitor all evening (between about 5 pm and midnight), and the Next Streetcar displays at various stations also said N/A.

I'm wondering if there was an unrelated TTC system failure that just happened to be about 16 hours after they modified the NextBus feed.
 
As of this weekend, the new mobile NextBus.com site makes the third-party apps look a bit redundant - at least for iphone users. And it no longer says "currently in beta testing" thank goodness.
 
k10ery said:
As of this weekend, the new mobile NextBus.com site makes the third-party apps look a bit redundant - at least for iphone users. And it no longer says "currently in beta testing" thank goodness.
Click to expand...

The 'regular" site is still Beta:

This system is currently in Beta testing

Tracked vehicles for route 504-King arriving in:

5 minutes
West - 504 King towards Roncesvalles
6 minutes
West - 504 King towards Roncesvalles
8 minutes
West - 504 King towards Roncesvalles
 
Finally! This can make such a difference in deciding when to travel and which route to take, especially off-peak and especially on blue night routes. They even included the subway shuttles.
 
And now it's gone.

img0338.png
 
Gah and I was planning to use it tonight to find that elusive Pape bus to the distillery.
 
Of course they hid it ... was on Eglinton today, saw 7 56 (Lawrence west) buses within 500m, with another 2 closely following ... that's no joke ... this is a bus that runs no better then 5/6 min in rush hour. You can imagine the wait after the 6th bus.


You say, this sort of stuff can happen occasionally ? Of course, traffic / accidents / weather ... I see it on Viva every once in a while. With the TTC though, this isn't a occasional event, this occurs everyday, on the same route many many many times. Even routes with 10/15 min service (that's the same as Viva) travel in packs frequently, meaning you get 1-2 min service followed by 20+ min. 7 in a row is extreme but it's so common to see 2/3 or 4 on the more frequent routes.
 
That touches on my second favourite use of nextbus....exemplified by me standing casually at Yonge, watching people cram into a westbound 506, knowing there's an empty one hidden around the bend that'll be there in 1 minute. Bunching can be your friend when you have live arrival times.
 
SlickFranky said:
That touches on my second favourite use of nextbus....exemplified by me standing casually at Yonge, watching people cram into a westbound 506, knowing there's an empty one hidden around the bend that'll be there in 1 minute. Bunching can be your friend when you have live arrival times.
Click to expand...
On the other hand, if the next one is another 20 minutes, you know you want to be the rude passenger who squeezes on despite there being no room!
 
I just don't understand ... is there something about TTC routes that are so hard to manage compared to others throughout the world.

I'll give them a break on some routes, i.e. take 36/39 (Finch east / west) the frequencies here are sub 5min (quite a bit less on the 39) bunching is inevitable. But the fact it occurs on routes where the frequencies are more reasonable i.e. 7-10 min is beyond me.
Moreover the bunching on the very frequents routes can just get out of hand at times (i.e. 4/5 buses together).

I'm tempted to say the TTC can improve service and carry quite a bit more people without spending $1 on new busses ... heck maybe they can even get rid of some ... if only routes are managed to control the spacing between buses as opposed to some schedule.
 
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