Ghost buses

[Harry Bloomfield]

Local mayor elections, people discussing public transport and 'ghost buses'. Like many places, we have displays, which show the next four or so buses, and when they are likely to arrive at the stop, based on buses sending track information, back to the server. Great system, except it includes 'ghost buses', which places doubt on the entire system. The ghost buses, are buses which are time tabled to arrive, but don't actually exist at all, they are cancelled buses. Why even bother showing none existent buses at all?

Seems like a simple modification to the software, not list the ghosts, I have complained to the local authority about this, it seems I might not be alone in being annoyed by them..

 

[fillyboy]

Local mayor elections, people discussing public transport and 'ghost buses'. Like many places, we have displays, which show the next four or so buses, and when they are likely to arrive at the stop, based on buses sending track information, back to the server. Great system, except it includes 'ghost buses', which places doubt on the entire system. The ghost buses, are buses which are time tabled to arrive, but don't actually exist at all, they are cancelled buses. Why even bother showing none existent buses at all?

Seems like a simple modification to the software, not list the ghosts, I have complained to the local authority about this, it seems I might not be alone in being annoyed by them..

After the ghost buses fail to arrive, do two ghost buses turn up at the same time?

 

[ic1927]

Who you gonna call?, ghost bus-ters.

 

[ReganAndCarter]

Local mayor elections, people discussing public transport and 'ghost buses'. Like many places, we have displays, which show the next four or so buses, and when they are likely to arrive at the stop, based on buses sending track information, back to the server. Great system, except it includes 'ghost buses', which places doubt on the entire system. The ghost buses, are buses which are time tabled to arrive, but don't actually exist at all, they are cancelled buses. Why even bother showing none existent buses at all?

Seems like a simple modification to the software, not list the ghosts, I have complained to the local authority about this, it seems I might not be alone in being annoyed by them..

I've had that. Waiting for a bus and the next one due gradually counts down the minutes on the display - then suddenly disappears off the display. Where did it go? Was it hijacked? Black hole? Bermuda Triangle? Pulled into a layby for driver to get 'acquainted' with clippy (happens in On The Buses). Why show it as the next bus to arrive if it never existed?

Because of this and bus service being generally carp, I use the the service only when there is really no alternative.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I've had that. Waiting for a bus and the next one due gradually counts down the minutes on the display - then suddenly disappears off the display. Where did it go? Was it hijacked? Black hole? Pulled into a layby for driver to get 'acquainted' with clippy (happens in On The Buses). Why show it as the next bus to arrive if it never existed?

I sort of 'get it', in that some buses might have a faulty tracking system, but that seems rare enough that it would be better to just not show them, or at least show them on the display with a qualifier - maybe something like 163S, instead of 163, to mean a scheduled/rather than tracked bus.

 

[ReganAndCarter]

I sort of 'get it', in that some buses might have a faulty tracking system, but that seems rare enough that it would be better to just not show them, or at least show them on the display with a qualifier - maybe something like 163S, instead of 163, to mean a scheduled/rather than tracked bus.

Yes, I suppose that makes sense. I assumed all the buses on the countdown display were tracked, as when the time for a particular bus says 'due', you can see it coming - so definitely being tracked. It's possible that the vanishing buses were just scheduled, not tracked. Defeats the object of having a display that appears to give live info.