ssing the time bus stops
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S OPERATING practice in nce is emerging as some of e most innovative in Europe — nerally, however, without ing to the technological mplexity of recent German ampies.
With methods of fare Ilection and presentation of ute and timetable information pidly making up for the time hen, for the casual traveller at ast, there was little couragement to use public ansport, there is now also a incurrent move to make 'ailable up-dated service formation to people inside oving vehicles and those aiting at roadside stops. The simplest way of sseminating service formation, ie announcements traffic delays, diversions or rtailments, is by means of udspeakerS at each stop, but is method is still mainly nfined to bus terminals. In Nice, where buses of the cal TN system have been iuipped for several years to tuate a computer-controlled nction priority system, the !hide identification gear has en further refined to extend its ,efulness to passengers at lected bus stops.
The first few routes to benefit )m this "headway" indication ve now been fitted with iminated display panels on rsts adjacent to bus stops. By aans of locator beacons aced out on the chosen routes position of buses is insmitted to these panels to ow by lights on a mimic diagram their approach to the particular stop.
A typical display may show up to ten stops separated by running times of one to two minutes and the progress — or not — of indicators lighting up gives passengers a fairly accurate idea of how much longer they may have to wait.
It is perhaps a sign of the greater civic pride on the Continent in equipment of this type that costly roadside installations can be made without fear of vandalism.
As there appears to be a continuing reluctance on the part of bus drivers to use onboard public address systems in a fashion which announces stops and transfer points intelligibly, more operators are turning to vehicle equipment incorporating taped or visual indication.
In a "computer-aided management operations and maintenance system" package announced by Heuliez Bus in association with Electronique Marcel Dassault, passenger information inside a bus is to be provided by a display screen.
After decoding information from central control and roadside markers, stopping places, running times and final destination will be announced. A similar aim is pursued by the Wandel & Goltermann device now fitted to a number of buses in the Ruhr district of Germany where "next stop" announcements from prerecorded tapes are accompanied by clear text panels in the vehicles.