Passengers using the Kelowna Regional Transit system can now plan their trips more efficiently thanks to the arrival real-time bus location technology.
Using mobile devices and desktop computers, riders can now see where their bus is on its route using NextRide, BC Transit’s real-time transit information program.
“NextRide will provide residents across the region with the information they need to better plan their bus trips,” says Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran. “This technology will provide the data needed to help us target investments and further enhance transit service in communities across the Central Okanagan.”
The technology also provides riders with real-time data bout the predicted arrival time at a stop.
NextRide also includes on-board enhancements, allowing customers to see and hear upcoming stop information upon approach, making BC Transit accessible to all users.
Related: Kelowna transit to adopt NextRide technology
NextRide data will allow BC Transit and its partners to better direct buses for schedule reliability and to more easily push alerts out to customers in the case of detours, accidents or other events that may delay regular routing.
“This real-time tracking technology will really benefit people in Kelowna who already ride the bus, and will hopefully encourage more people to start taking transit,” said B.C’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena.
NextRide technology was first launched in the Regional District of Nanaimo in May, followed by the Comox Valley Regional District in June, then Whistler and Squamish in July and Kamloops in August. In total, NextRide will be implemented in seven communities this year, with Victoria following this spring.
“Our customers are relying on technology in their daily lives and now we’re bringing that technology right on to our buses,” said Erinn Pinkerton, BC Transit’s President and CEO. “I am grateful to our government partners whose strong support makes significant endeavours like NextRide possible for transit systems like Kelowna.”
Strategic Mapping, Inc. has been contracted to install and monitor the technology. Funding for this project is coming from the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, which was announced in June 2016 by the federal and provincial governments.
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