Kelowna transit riders in for a bumpy ride due to tech upgrades
Kelowna’s regional transit system is getting a tech update to iron out problems with the trip planning app.
BC Transit is upgrading the NextRide trip planner and advises realtime data will be unavailable intermittently until Nov. 14, according to a BC Transit media release. The desktop NextRide planning tool will no longer be available as of Monday, Oct. 23. In the case where information needs to be transmitted, it will be communicated to the users through the customer alert system.
The updates to the system come at a time when users have been noticing failures in NextRide technology.
The company suggests using other existing platforms such as the BC Transit website, the Transit App and Google Maps.
BC Transit said it's collaborating with the Transit App to ensure the new updates are efficient.
“Our new hardware and software will have more reliability with real-time information within the Transit App once we are complete with this project,” Jaimie Weiss with BC Transit said. “We have a fulsome training program to ensure the Kelowna regional operations team knows how to use the system effectively and can apply detours, updates and alerts in a timely manner which will help with information sharing in a timely manner.”
BC Transit will also start installing Automatic Vehicle Location hardware on Kelowna buses on Monday.
As well, heavy-duty buses will get new full-colour digital passenger information displays. They'll include trip information including multiple upcoming stops, the current route and service alerts. The new displays will have more reliable software than those that currently exist allowing for better communication between the buses and users.
The cost for the entire project in BC is $16.8 million shared between the federal, provincial and local governments.
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