Electronic bus timetables not working

[somebody]

I was getting on the 12:22am 444 from Roma St on Friday night, and the electronic displays showed no buses until morning.  This is incorrect, and should be fixed.

Also, it seems that the suburban displays at numerous stops all over Brisbane don't work reliably enough at all.  I'm talking about the ones with amber text on a black background that supposedly show the next 4 buses at a given stop.  They frequently display buses for hours away from the current time, timtables from different days etc.  I'm not completely sure if this is supposed to be updated via GPS based on how or early a bus is running or whether it's just supposed to be an electronic form of the paper timetable.

After 4-5 years, they can't get those timetable displays to work?  Why not?

[Otto]

Also, it seems that the suburban displays at numerous stops all over Brisbane don't work reliably enough at all.  I'm talking about the ones with amber text on a black background that supposedly show the next 4 buses at a given stop.  They frequently display buses for hours away from the current time, timtables from different days etc.  I'm not completely sure if this is supposed to be updated via GPS based on how or early a bus is running or whether it's just supposed to be an electronic form of the paper timetable.

After 4-5 years, they can't get those timetable displays to work?  Why not?

Does'nt matter if it's the amber or red text, they all use the same system.. Yes, many do not work or show incorrect information.. I always tell people to use the printed timetables on the bus stop post to see when the next bus is due.. I have seen the electronic displays showing routes that run on the other side of town !!

Theory of how the system should work..
Each BT bus has a transponder that communicates its details with the magnetic loop in the road surface at each set of traffic lights. The info is then sent to the electronic displays and matched with the timetable info of the display. The display then adjusts its due time to reflect when the bus is expected in real time... This is all part of the 'BLISS' traffic control system.
When incorrect timetable data is downloaded to the electronic displays, they will not be able to show real time info..

[somebody]

Ahh, OK, so they are supposed to display real time info, but not using a GPS.  Two systems for locating a bus?  That's a little wierd, I presume the electronic timetable came first and the ticketting later.

One further point, the Roma St display was showing 66 buses arriving the next morning.  Since the 66 doesn't run on Saturday, that's obviously incorrect.  I don't think I've ever seen a display with red text.  Perhaps the display just had the wrong day of week when the 12:22am 444 doesn't run.

[longboi]

You'll find the one's with red text at suburban stops. Not all of them are real time either; some of them (mostly suburban ones) will just go off the timetable and will bump services off the screen, even if they haven't actually departed.

And yes BT started installing electronic timetables long before TransLink even existed but I think they should be upgraded to use GPS.

[O_128]

The UQ lakes one just had the smart state logo on it.

[verbatim9]

The UQ lakes one just had the smart state logo on it.

LOL! I have never known those smart bus signs to be correct even in peak it shows the approx time of arrival then disappears off screen then the bus does not come at that time and arrives about 10mins later or never arrives at all? And on Public holidays it shows a regular Mon-Fri timetable on those things. Isnt time for a software update on those smart signs as well as the GO Card (GO Money!) for daily capping.

[stephenk]

The PID at RBWH is next to useless sometimes. The number of 333s that drop off the list, with no bus arriving is quite annoying.

I've also noticed at Normanby that many buses take a few minutes to drop off the list. Thus you can arrive on the platform, think a bus is just about to arrive, when it has already departed.

[Emmie]

While it isn't terribly accurate, I've found the one at Benson St, Toowong gives a pretty good indication of when the next buses (411, 412, 402 and 417) are coming.  And for people who are unfamiliar with the area, it is reassuring to know that a bus is likely to arrive in the next 10-15 minutes.

Which makes it a damn shame that the damn thing hasn't been working since before Christmas.