On 12 Apr, 02:15, Ernst S Blofeld
wrote:

MarkVarley - MVP wrote:
I have no idea what they're called, the LED signs in some bus stops
that tell you how long the busses are supposed to be, my question is,
how do they work? how do they update?

A few times I've seen that my bus is due next in a couple of minutes
but it just doesn't arrive, several later busses come and then it
vanishes off the sign, abducted by aliens?

If you read through the archives of this newsgroup you will find similar
statements and much gnashing of teeth. The classic is the bus coming in
the other direction showing up on the display or, during the night, the
bus travelling at much greater than expected speeds and thus the 10
minute allowance for a juicy kebab turns into a rapid dash, without any
greasy and dubious sustenance.

All in all, Countdown is a disappointing experience and while iBus
promises much greater accuracy, it will no doubt lull the average
traveller into a false sense of security much as the present system
does. It would be good if the displays could correct for inaccuracy,
and calculate averages depending on the day and time, well within the
capabilities of even the most modest microcontrollers, but they won't.
Instead, vague promises of an impending bus will remain long after it
has left or will appear well in advance of the actual reality.

ESB

Yeah, you're right, you might as well just give up, there's no point
in trying to make anything better whatsoever. In fact they might as
well give up on running buses, anyone who needs to get anywhere should
just get a car. I can't see any problem with that idea.

Mizter T wrote:
Yeah, you're right, you might as well just give up, there's no point
in trying to make anything better whatsoever. In fact they might as
well give up on running buses, anyone who needs to get anywhere should
just get a car. I can't see any problem with that idea.

I did not for one moment suggest that things should not be made better,
rather I suggested they probably would not. I would love to see highly
reliable displays but, for whatever reason, it just hasn't been managed
yet. I appreciate having good, timely information so that when delays
occur I can take alternative routes but the Countdown system does not
provide this. When, for example, you let a few buses pass because a
preferential one is coming in "2 mins" - it is damn annoying when this
doesn't transpire even 10 minutes later and that bus has disappeared
entirely off the display like a ghostly dream. The difficulty then is
after a few big let-downs, the information ceases to be trusted.

I also suggested that the displays should become a little more
intelligent, using statistics to improve the accuracy of the
information, flagging delays etc. This would not necessarily need
real-time route position information but could be estimated just by
sensing the buses as they pass the stop. Such a system would
self-calibrate and have an number of other advantages. They would also
display the current time of day obtained via the 60KHz time signal.

ESB