TransLink Journey Planner

[HappyTrainGuy]

Depends on the location. For city stops it should be similar to busways as buses already treat it like a busway stop during peak hour (The stops opposite to Central are a great example).

I'll challenge you to reduced dwell times at Chermside. I'd like to say a busway stop arrangment would be good but the way the whole thing is configured with the 333 taking up two bays doesn't help both situations. The current layout blocks buses from exiting if buses are delayed. Having the buses park on the outskirts also doesn't help (Even though they shouldn't do that but it still regularly happens) when it comes to buses trying to get past. I was stuck on a 338 (wasn't the first time) a couple months ago when the 330/340 pulled in sharp to its bay. It blocked the bus behind from navagating past. The 338 prevented the bus in the next bay from pulling out and a 33X was stuck behind on the level crossing (I think the driver didn't see the way blocked when he made the turn). I'll tell you what, it should be interesting if the 330-340 buz/335 use the same bay soon

[justanotheruser]

(IMO, it's silly that they still build interchanges [or city stops!] with 3 stops 10m apart anyway. It'd be far easier for all involved - and much more efficient - to just have one longer stop, i.e. busway style without the busway.)

You mean like at Chermside or Cannon Hill?  I don't think anything is silly about that.  Puts the intending passengers much nearer the buses and saves dwell times.

I agree that it can save time especially if chermside gets busy. Buses are required to stop in the front two positions so if it is the third bus and nobody else gets on it has to wait and move forward and stop again before leaving. unless they have changed that rule!
i prefer the chermside setup unless I have to transfer to one of the buses that doesn't stop at the interchange but on the street!

[ozbob]

Seems some sort of journey planner update overnight ...

==========

Twitter

TransLink SEQ ‏@TransLinkSEQ

Journey planner will be unavailable for about 1 hour - rest of website, PDF timetables, go card all unaffected http://bit.ly/NbNAQ0

10:00 PM - 10 Jul 12

[somebody]

Searching for a trip city to Bribie suggests using a 330 to Zillmere or a 340 to Carseldine rather than walking to Central.  Bizarre!

[Golliwog]

Searching for a trip city to Bribie suggests using a 330 to Zillmere or a 340 to Carseldine rather than walking to Central.  Bizarre!

Interesting. Not sure where in the city you're going from, but I chose Elizabeth St and it reckoned catch a 475, 470 or 360 from there to Fortitude Valley station, then train to Caboolture. There must be something in the software to minimize the length of walks rather than the number of legs. In the old JP there were options you could change to get you the least walking or the least number of different trips, though they seem to have stripped that out of this one.

[somebody]

Journey planner recognises the location "city".

[aldonius]

Specifically, the eastern corner of Albert St and Queen St.

[Golliwog]

It really does like to avoid walking! I just did one with city to Bribie Island, it had one or two with catching a 111 to Roma St then a train to Caboolture, but it also had the idea of catching a 425 to Toowong, then catching a train to Caboolture there.

[somebody]

I'd have to say, that I am impressed by the ability to bookmark a bus stop in your phone's web browser, go to the bookmark and get real time data about the services approaching the stop, with the number of minutes the service is away from the stop.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/920410371348774912

[InclusionMoves]

Very difficult to navigate around my preferred station of Wulkuraka when the lift is out. You can't trust that the time it has is correct for the station you actually put and the name is simply wrong. Same online as apposed to journey planner app. Would mean even if you called up any operator would have the same issue so hard to think no one has noticed before.

Geoff

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/920410371348774912

[ozbob]

I think it is a fairly recent bug Geoff. I was out west a month ago and it was fine.  A lot of people use it.

I think they do periodical updates etc. and sometimes it gets messed up.

[techblitz]

Was waiting for the 4.59 inbound 110 from inala last night and was keeping an eye on the journey planner for archerfield north stop.
Even though the bus had not turned up to start its route until 5.15pm it was still showing as running to schedule on the real-time journey planner...hence 'bus in limbo'
Only when the driver commenced the route from inala did the journey planner re-update with the correct bus stop arrival times.

Its a brilliant system...but only when buses are available when they should be(in the case of the 110 driver last night who was sitting at the depot for 15 mins waiting for his bus).......and/or buses are running to schedule before they do their return runs....which as we know is not happening along congested rd like Ipswich/mains/coro.
I would put Willawong depot in as the worst affected...

Unless they can start tracking the actual driver's GPS position as well as the GPS position of his next bus....then match it up,calculate,and submit to the real-time system.... will they be able to get it up to 99% accuracy.
This is only going to get worse as car traffic increases and they stall on bus reviews.

[techblitz]

another interesting anomaly found...

So the 310 I was on yesterday I was keeping an eye on the realtime via journey planner...keeping an eye on the bus approaching each future stop(yes I get bored on buses  )

Everything was fine until we hit the driver change stop @ viriginia...
When the driver signed off & exited......the route automatically listed itself as cancelled for all future stops....it was like this for about 10 minutes after the new driver signed on.
So between Virginia depot and deagon shops/sandgate high the route was listed as cancelled and then once the system updates the route then appears as running again...

[verbatim9]

another interesting anomaly found...

So the 310 I was on yesterday I was keeping an eye on the realtime via journey planner...keeping an eye on the bus approaching each future stop(yes I get bored on buses  )

Everything was fine until we hit the driver change stop @ viriginia...
When the driver signed off & exited......the route automatically listed itself as cancelled for all future stops....it was like this for about 10 minutes after the new driver signed on.
So between Virginia depot and deagon shops/sandgate high the route was listed as cancelled and then once the system updates the route then appears as running again...

I hope this is all addressed with next generation ticketing. Especially the 11.50pm to 1240am phantom zone, when real time drops out for all vehicles.

[Paul B]

I've seen that 'cancelled' quite a bit with routes blank running from suburbia back to the city to do an outbound run. Do bus drivers have an option or is it mandatory to plug in the run they are doing between routes, because at times I've seen the tracker counting down the minutes until it arrived, presumably because the tracker could see if coming from afar (at least that way commuters can see their bus coming that way, rather than the puzzling 'cancelled')

[techblitz]

The last time down the GC it happened to the 760 I was connecting into as well.....was checking its progress on the train and about 5 minutes out from varsity....it suddenly showed up as cancelled....like that for around 10 mins....
I was obviously very irritated when I saw this and was about to jump on a 765 but then...about 2 minutes before scheduled 760 arrival time it miraculously shows up as coming again....
This confuses anyone relying on the real-time journey planner for accurate arrival times of their bus..

[Cazza]

Happened to me the other day. To get from Ashgrove to The Gap Village, I sometimes get the 381 then transfer to the 385 @ Glenquarie Pl (so I don't have to wait another 30 mins for the 380). A few minutes before the 381 rocked up, I checked to see where the 385 was at and it said it was cancelled. Slightly annoyed, I just got the 381 to Payne Rd @ Paten Park and walked from there.

To my dismay, what did I see go past as I got to The Gap Village, but the "cancelled" 385.

On the plus side, I guess I did burn a few calories from the walk so maybe they were trying to tell me something

[techblitz]

Well we now have multiple sources of this happening....might be time to get an official explanation from translink about what causes this.
When working....this system is accurate to the minute....but this 'cancelled' anomaly completely wrecks it.
As per your example cazza....it is very handy to use when needing to connect to different services or modes....

[ozbob]

^ happy to progress it.  Can someone draft a couple of paragraphs that I can use to work with please?

[techblitz]

[draft]

Recently rail back on track members who have been relying on the translink real time information for buses have noticed an anomaly with buses which appear as cancelled, only to re-appear as arriving.

Examples include a route 310 status of cancelled appearing straight after a driver change @ virigina depot,only to re-appear as running 10 minutes later.
Also a long term regular user of route 310 has also noticed 'cancelled' issues with various north side bus routes which need to return to the city to do their following outbound runs.

Another example is a commuter wanting to connect into route 760 at varsity lakes only to have the route come up as cancelled 12 minutes before its due at the bus stop but then re-appear as coming 2 minutes before arrival.

Also the same issue for a passenger needing to connect into route 385 from route 381. As route 381 was approaching the connection point,the 385 suddenly came up as 'cancelled'. Then when passenger realised their bus was not going to arrive,they started to walk,only to then see their cancelled 385 actually still running.

As we have multiple confirmed sources we would like to know what the actual cause of this issue is, the system overall is very accurate but this issue puts a dampener on it`s reliability.

[/draft]

[ozbob]

Thanks .. leave it with me ..  :bi

[techblitz]

cheers ozbob 
speaking of anomalies...in that first 760 post of mine the '5 minutes out' means I was checking the 760 status when the train was 5 minutes out from varsity ==  760 due @ varsity 12 mins later.
Sorry for the confusion

[verbatim9]

When Next Gen ticketing was announced, it was stated that enhancements to real time arrivals will be addressed. Hopefully this will iron out current bugs in the system?
"That saying" Nothing wrong in letting Translink know a list of current bugs that they may or may not be aware of?

[techblitz]

"That saying" Nothing wrong in letting Translink know a list of current bugs that they may or may not be aware of?

yep
they probably know these issues exist but are simply powerless to do anything because of the tech...
In that case they need to be more honest with the travelling public....
eg: if a bus goes offline mid travel due to loss of signal then that is what is stated instead of a generic 'cancelled'.
Because in the end joe public are going to think exactly that......that the bus IS cancelled...


for reference:

https://translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/real-time

How does real-time work?

Real-time is a prediction based on the vehicle's current GPS location which is then compared with the scheduled time.

Real-time predictions are available for services operating within the next 60 minutes. These services display real-time predictions as a countdown. Services that are more than 60 minutes away will display their scheduled timetable.

If real-time is not available, services may display their normal scheduled timetable. When this occurs, the word 'scheduled' will appear under the service's departure time.

Some trains may also show as 'cancelled' or 'skipped', or indicate a change to the platform. These instances may occur if the vehicle is impacted by delays, network connectivity issues or is required to travel outside the service's normal route.

[ozbob]

Based on the information you have gathered etc. TB and others will put something out later today in a more general education sense.  TransLink put out these generic covering statements but the average punter does not really understand the details or impact. Be aware of the phantom cancelled buses!   

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

26th August 2018

Phantom bus cancellations - community awareness needed when using TransLink real time information

Greetings

Recently RAIL Back On Track Members who have been relying on the TransLink real time information ( https://translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/real-time ) for buses have noticed an anomaly with buses which appear as cancelled, only to re-appear as arriving.

Examples include a route 310 status of cancelled appearing straight after a driver change at the Virginia Depot, only to re-appear as running 10 minutes later. Also a long term regular user of route 310 has also noticed 'cancelled' issues with various north side bus routes which need to return to the city to do their following outbound runs.

Another example was a commuter wanting to connect into route 760 at varsity lakes only to have the route come up as cancelled 12 minutes before its due at the bus stop but then re-appear as coming 2 minutes before arrival.

Also the same issue for a passenger needing to connect into route 385 from route 381. As route 381 was approaching the connection point, the 385 suddenly came up as 'cancelled'. Then when passenger realised their bus was not going to arrive, they started to walk, only to then see their cancelled 385 bus actually still running!

These examples are documented here > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=8422.msg211113#msg211113

TransLink ( https://translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/real-time ) on their 'How does real time work' page do warn that are occasions when vehicles may show as cancelled or skipped but do not elaborate.

The real time system overall is very accurate but this anomaly puts a dampener on its reliability.

As we have multiple confirmed sources, we assume it is a problem with the present system that cannot be fixed until the roll out of the next generation system.  However we believe it is necessary for TransLink to educate passengers that there are these anomalies and be aware that the bus may not be cancelled even though it is showing as cancelled.  The best advice is to wait, and check other sources for service disruptions e.g. twitter, before changing travel plans.

Best wishes,

Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1033453391865765888

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1033455054835965952

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1033459673792299008

[ozbob]

Going off at Facebook TB > https://www.facebook.com/RAILBackOnTrack/posts/2209874192360089

[techblitz]

 

[James]

This is not limited to driver depot changes. I have had this issue multiple times (mainly on my local routes - 411, 412, 427/428/432 etc.) with buses appearing as cancelled, only to return to the real time feed later. Likewise, cancelled services often won't show up as cancelled in the real-time until they have passed the stop you are looking at.

I quickly learned not to trust the real-time cancellation feature. A shame really, it could be useful.

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 28th August 2018 page 13

Double-check cancellation anomaly

[techblitz]

https://www.facebook.com/TransLinkQLD/posts/2862512517108128

Why does the 375 for 12:06 say "Cancelled" at 11:30 on website. At 12:04 it was "2min". I had to get an uber to work because I was not expecting it to come. It takes 10 minutes to get to the bus. Would have to wait 30minutes for next bus.

easy money for uber...1 less trip for translink...

https://translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/real-time

How does real-time work?

Real-time is a prediction based on the vehicle's current GPS location which is then compared with the scheduled time.

Real-time predictions are available for services operating within the next 60 minutes. These services display real-time predictions as a countdown. Services that are more than 60 minutes away will display their scheduled timetable.

If real-time is not available, services may display their normal scheduled timetable. When this occurs, the word 'scheduled' will appear under the service's departure time.

Some trains AND BUSES may also show as 'cancelled' or 'skipped', or indicate a change to the platform. These instances may occur if the vehicle is impacted by delays, network connectivity issues or is required to travel outside the service's normal route.

gee how hard is that translink??
Obviously hard...

[verbatim9]

Just wondering when Google maps will activate the real time feed for Cairns. Sent an email to Google maps no reply as yet?

[SurfRail]

All of the Cairns bus fleet is now fitted with go card equipment (albeit it is just the driver console and printer unit and they are unusable).  From what I was observing the stops are plotted and the reader does become active around each one.