Land Transport Authority Bus app gives wrong bus arrival time
On many occasions, I saw that the bus app was giving the wrong bus arrival times. 

It is not just a minute or two - which I find to be acceptable. It is that a bus was "missing".

For example, if the app showed that the next arriving buses are 16 and 24 mins, it is likely that there is a bus that will arrive in 8 mins or so, and that bus is not appearing in the app.

Quite likely, the bus has a faulty tracker and is not captured in the database. 

Also likely, the fault had been around for several years and was not noticed or rectified. I have seen it happen quite often with the service 163 that I take regularly. I do not think that the failure was a recent event.

It is really quite sad. This failure could have been easily identified and rectified.

I know that the database contains the time that each bus arrives at each bus stop. This is how the app is able to predict the arrival time at the next bus stop.

It is a simple step to write a script to run through the database and check that every bus that is in operation has been reporting their locations on each day. If the tracker has failed, this would have been noticed and a new tracker could be installed. 

This script can also check the punctuality of the buses and identify those that have a bad record of punctuality. If the record is persistent, it cannot be attributed to bad traffic conditions (which does not seem to affect the other buses). It is more likely due to a physical fault in the bus or a bad work attitude of the driver or supervisor. This matter can be checked.

I have written to the Land Transport Authority on this matter a few times in the past. They do not seem to care. 

I am also unhappy that the Transport Minister, whom I frequently refereed to as stupid XXX, does not bother. If he just ask a few questions to his people in the LTA, this matter could be resolved quite promptly.

Stupid XXX - I hope that you are listening.

Tan Kin Lian






 

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