A NextRide technology replacement is coming to the Victoria Regional Transit System to increase certainty and bus predictability for transit users.
New automatic vehicle-location hardware will be installed on all buses that operate conventional transit service beginning on Jan. 15.
All heavy-duty and high-capacity buses will also get digital full-colour passenger information displays.
These displays will offer trip details such as upcoming stops, current routes and service alerts.
BC Transit believes there will be no service interruptions during the installation process.
The project is expected to cost $16.8 million.
The funding for this replacement is coming from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. It is being cost-shared with the federal government providing 50 per cent, the provincial government contributing 40 per cent and local government partners chipping in for the remaining 10 per cent.
The NextRide desktop trip planning tool will no longer be available starting Jan. 16.
Desktop computer users can still use the trip planning tool at bctransit.com.
Customers can also see when buses arrive and how full they are by using the Transit App.
NextRide falls under BC Transit’s smart bus program, which intends to make transit more accessible, safer and enjoyable with the help of new technology.
BC Transit says the initiative also provides greater flexibility and value for its local government partners.
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