High-tech devices to update bus riders
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Transportation Writer
It's a constant hassle for bus riders: wondering if they just missed their bus and when the next one arrives.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
To relieve some of that anxiety, the city will introduce new technology next month at some major bus stops.
Don Hamada, in charge of city traffic signals and technology, shows how the location indicator will work. Click on the picture for a closer look at the indicator screen.
Beginning in late June, electronic maps and voice technology will be installed to tell waiting riders where the next express bus is and when it arrives.
The first such devices will go up at two bus stops along King and Beretania streets where each street intersects with Punchbowl.
The electronic devices will first be installed along "CityExpress!" Route B, which goes from Kalihi to Waikiki. Thirty bus stops along "CityExpress!" Routes A, B and C will eventually have the electronic signs, said city transportation director Cheryl Soon.
"We know there is a fair amount of anxiety among bus riders on whether they missed their bus or how long they have to wait for the next one," Soon said.
"The signs will give a general location and let the person decide whether they want to wait at the stop or maybe go get something to drink."
The program will use the global positioning system in which a signal bounces off a bus antenna to a satellite above and then back down to a wireless antenna atop each of the electronic signs.
Antennas to track 30 express buses are being installed on the vehicles.
The sign will light up to show the general location of the bus along the route. An electronic voice will inform riders when the bus is about a block or two away.
"We needed to put in the voice technology to comply with the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act)," Soon said. The city already uses voice technology aboard the express buses to inform riders about upcoming stops.
For now, the signs will not include the buses' estimated time of arrival.
"Eventually, we would like to add in features that tell if the bus is approximately five or 10 minutes away," said Don Hamada, chief of the Traffic Signals and Technology Division at the Department of Transportation Services. "But since the bus is running with other traffic, it may prevent us from giving a precise or accurate time of arrival."
The signs will be affixed 10 feet high onto street poles and covered with high-strength plexiglass to discourage vandals.
The same tracking technology will be available on the Internet at cityexpress.hawaii.edu to allow computers users to track express bus routes.
By the end of the year, Soon said, the city plans to introduce technology along the express bus route that will allow traffic signals to pick up sensors atop the specialized buses and hold green lights for a few extra seconds to allow the vehicles to get through intersections.
