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BC Transit does final testing for live bus tracking app

NextRide technology rolls out in Spring
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Bill Friend, an RDN Transit driver, shuttles people around during a demonstration of NextRide technology on Wednesday. (KARL YU/News Bulletin)

BC Transit was showing off its new live bus tracking technology, NextRide, in Victoria today.

RELATED: Video: BC Transit shows off NextRide bus technology

During final testing, routes 4, 8, 30, 39, 70, 81 and 88 were displaying the live location of one bus per route.

The new technology is part of a BC Transit initiative to install Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology on buses connected to a web-based passenger app.

The app, accessible on web browsers and smart phones, will allow transit-users to know the exact location of their bus along its route as well as its approximate arrival time.

BC Transit said the live tracking technology will provide data to better direct buses for schedule reliability, manage on-road incidents and easily push alerts out to customers in the case of detours, accidents or other incidents.

The technology will be cost shared with the federal government assuming 50 per cent, provincial government 33 per cent and local government assuming the remaining 17 per cent.

NextRide will be available in Victoria in Spring, 2019.

- With files from Karl Yu.



nina.grossman@blackpress.ca

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