Why there's still no sign of the bus

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Downtown Auckland bus passengers could be forgiven for thinking they are either looking at a new street sculpture or are victims of a hoax hatched by City Hall.

Electronic signboards mounted at bus stops stare blankly back at passengers instead of lighting up into a message of hope that their bus will be arriving at a certain time ... soon.

The real-time information screens are part of a $7 million cutting-edge electronic system to better manage inner-city buses and soothe wait-weary passengers.

The system is even designed to help people with eyesight problems. Pushing a button on the screen's support pole emits a voice saying when the next bus is due.

But the system, which at the start of this year Auckland City Council officials confidently said would be launched for Link buses by late February, is still to be switched on.

No date for the launch was available from project leaders yesterday.

"We are in the middle of testing," said the city's manager of transport policy and projects, Vadi Vencatachellum. Testing began weeks ago, he said, but he could not say when it would end.

"It's complex new technology for a high-profile route - we must wait until we are sure we can provide accurate information."

He said another part of the project was a pre-emption system to help Link buses not get held up too long at traffic lights along the 13.6km loop.

Controllers would be able to intervene as difficulties arose. If buses were slowed by congestion, it might be possible to have another bus fill the gap in service, or to slow a bus that was too close behind another.

It was a hope to have both elements of the project working at the same time, he said, and there were some technical issues to resolve, mostly with software.

Once the electronic aids for the Link service were working to expectation, Mr Vencatachellum said they would be extended to routes on main arterial roads, for example, Dominion Rd and Mt Eden Rd.

How it works

* Bus transmits position to a central computer via a GPS satellite.

* Computer works out how long the bus will take to get to remaining stops.

* At key stops, screens show when the bus will arrive.

* Buses running late can pre-empt traffic lights.