New live info boards haunted by ghost buses, passengers claim

Bus passengers say they have been left waiting for “ghost buses” which appear on live info boards but never actually turn up.

Many have also experienced a mismatch in when the live info boards and the bus company’s app or other live time apps such as Google Maps says the next bus will turn up.

The teething problems with the new boards which saw scores not working at all for months has mostly now been resolved.

But passengers have now noticed there’s often a difference in the waiting times on the new screens and those on the Brighton and Hove Buses app or other services such as Google Maps – with the apps usually proving more accurate.

Some have speculated the live info boards are simply showing the timetabled time.

But Brighton and Hove City Council, which together with East Sussex has paid Vix Technology £6 million to install the boards, says the discrepancy is down to data sources or prediction logic used by the different platforms.

Bus passenger Nikki Harper said she had often experienced what she called “the magical disappearing bus” when the board said buses were due to appear but then just vanished with nothing actually turning up.

She said: “The only way round this I’ve found is to look at the bus stop on the app – it shows you the location of the expected bus. If it’s not there then it won’t turn up.

“I’ve found the new bus boards default to the timetable, not reality.”

Another passenger said: “We waited ages for our board at the bottom of Coombe Road. It looks fab, but on two recent occasions it’s been wrong.

“I looked up the app for a better indication otherwise I’d have walked with my heavy bags to see the bus whizz by me.”

Cabinet member for transport Trevor Muten said: “Bus displays at our stops do operate in real-time.

“There may occasionally be differences between these displays, the Brighton and Hove Buses app and some national smartphone apps, depending on the data source or prediction logic being used by each platform.

“We use tracking and mapping based on when buses depart previous stops.

“While we do understand there can be frustration if on occasion times shown do not completely reflect the eventual arrival time – and we do accept there is further work to be done to improve this service – we are confident that overall the displays provide accurate real-time information.

“If people have concerns around specific stops, they can contact the council and we can work with the bus company to review how data is being used to make predictions, or check whether there has been any damage to the equipment on those routes.”