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.”
The whole thing is a farce. Partially sighted or elderly people have zero options without these igns and still nobidy seems able to solve the issue. Absolutely ridiculous.
The whole thing is a farce. Partially sighted or elderly people have zero options without these signs and still nobody seems able to solve the issue. Absolutely ridiculous.
That should say ‘one side’
Inside of the board, you only has half a display. Also, in display shows different times to the app. An absolute shambles.
One side of the board usually only has half a display. Also, the board shows different arrival times to the app. An absolute shambles.
Yep. Happened this evening … Waited 10 minutes for a 49 at Palmiera Square.. Count down right to ‘due’ and then disappeared……
Agree, only yesterday church road watched the time click down first the No5 then poof gone. Must be nearly Halloween
Cannot believe the hot mess that are these signs. So many are broken with chunks of text missing (eg, Elm Grove), so many have never worked (eg, Universities) and those that do seem to be completely different to the app.
I know these signs are managed by the council – whatever happened to them giving Vix (the manufacturer) final notice to sort them out? Surely that deadline has come and gone.
An absolute joke. Anyone who uses buses knows they can’t trust the boards or the app. Company should be held accountable for this. Bus fails to show, refund the ticket.
Surly it would have just been cheaper to put an RSS feed to the bus companies website… £6 million quid for something that has never worked. Surly there is a Claus in the contract for this
Would that be the Sanity Claus?
Surly wood.
The board at the bottom of The Avenue / Lewes Road has never worked. I also think that having how long until bus arrives is ridiculous as I have previously waited 10 minutes for a bus that the board said was only 1 minute away. They should do it in distances.
Well, this does at least explain what has happened to the number 20. One hasn’t actually seen one for weeks.
I had rather assumed the service had been withdrawn. How reassuring to discover it has merely passed into the spirit world.
Still, £6 million seems a rather substantial sum for a Ouija board.
No not withdrawn there are plenty of them that do the one way system thing around Pepper Pot area.
I also find annoying that on the side at western road pad where the 700 Stops and buses go along towards Hove there are 2 Live Boards for the same buses going t the same way.
1, 1X 6, 700 not suree
Augs, how might one see the 20 from the back seat of an imaginary Bentley?
I emailed BHCC in July asking for an update. They sent a long, jargon-heavy reply which included the following:
Current electrical delays
We must note that the Distribution Network Operators (for new power connections and mains power supply repairs) can be complicated to work with due to their long (current) 3-month lead times. We are trying to use other contractors to try and reduce the waiting times as they are able, in some circumstances, to use separate jointers under licence. However, this work can be de-prioritised when they are working on emergency works e.g. faulty traffic signals, power outages. As such we cannot provide exact dates for installations and repairs.
NEC4 Contract
The RTPI Contractor is working under a NEC4 Contract. An NEC4 contract is a suite of standard construction and engineering documents designed to foster collaboration, mutual trust, and proactive risk management. It mandates that all parties act in a “spirit of mutual trust and co-operation,” shifting the focus from traditional blame-allocation and formal disputes to shared problem-solving and communication. Council have worked with and continue to work with the RTPI contractor to resolve issues. Please note that this is a joint NEC4 Contract with East Sussex County Council (ESCC).
That’s a lot of words to say “the electrical supply is delaying everything, and nobody’s willing to take a guess as to how long it will be: we’ve all agreed not to blame anyone but it’s probably all ESCC’s fault.”
I’m guessing that the contract with VIX didn’t include a deadline for completion, let alone set out financial penalties.