Catching the bus is getting a little easier.
Timmins Transit has launched a new tracking software on all the buses, which is available online. Operations Supervisor Jamie Millions says this software lays out the routes, stops and maps online, as well as tracks the buses so you know when they will reach the stops. “The information is live so you can actually follow the bus along the road as it comes, so you can time how long it will take you to get to that stop and actually meet the bus there.”
Timmins Transit says all 19 buses in the fleet have a cellular SIM card installed in an electronic device that uploads the location of the bus second-by-second. The company says this system is identical to ones being used in other Canadian cities, expect this one is customized to Timmins. The program has been colour-coded so the route number matches the colours used on the existing Timmins Transit website.
Millions says this software aims to make riding the buses easier and more convenient. He says he hopes this will increase ridership in the city. “Our funding is based strictly on ridership. So the more people we get on the buses, the more funding we get which in turn allows us to provide better service and get stuff like this.”
He says right now this software isn’t on an actual app that you can download on your phone, but a link that can be accessed through the internet. Millions says you will be able to access it either through wifi, your home computer or by using data.
This tracking software cost about $425,000. Millions says this cost was offset by the Ontario Public Transit Infrastructure Fund. and the gasoline tax program. City Council voted to buy this program in May of last year because it wouldn’t cost the taxpayers anything.
Millions says so far there has been no negative feedback. “I mean we are going from an old schedule system to actually having a live system where you can physically see where the bus is.” He adds that it also helps them on the back end, in the office, to answer any questions.