Land Transport Authority Digital display to improve bus service
I take the bus regularly. I want to make the best use of my time while waiting for the bus.

I need to know when the next bus will arrive at the bus stop. 

When I know the expected time of arrival, I will be able to spend the waiting time to browse the internet. I do not need to watch out for for the arriving bus.

I am able to get the bus arrival time using a mobile phone app. This is not convenient.

Sometimes the data connection is poor and the app takes a long time to load. After the app is loaded, I need to go through a few steps before I can get the arrival time of the next bus. 

I find it more convenient for the bus stop to have a tablet that display the arrival time of the different bus services that serve this bus stop.

I also need to be alerted when the bus that I have taken arrives at its destination.

At present, I track of the journey using a mobile phone app that display a map of the journey. This is quite troublesome and inconvenient. I also encounter problems when the data connection is weak.

I need to use the mobile phone to browse the internet anyway.

I prefer the bus to have a digital display that shows the sequence number of the next stop. 

I can check for the sequence number of my destination bus stop for the specific bus service that I have taken. Each service has its own set of sequence number for the stops. 

By looking at the digital display, I will know the number of stops before I arrive at my destination. This is more convenient than monitoring the movement of the bus on a mobile app.

The new buses shows the name of the next bus stop. This is not useful. Often, I still do not know the number of stops before I arrive at my destination. A digital display of the sequence number of the next stop is better.

Many bus travelers do not pay attention to the bus arrival time or to the expected time of arrival at the destination. They accept the current situation and find other ways to occupy their waiting time. 

However, if the information (that I suggested) is available, many travelers will use the opportunity to make productive use of their waiting time.

The digital display for the bus stop is not costly. It can use existing tablets. The software can be built at a negligible cost. 

The maintenance cost is also low.  It needs a power source which is already available at the bus stop. If the tablet is faulty, it can be replaced.

The sequential number display in the bus is also inexpensive. It can be linked to the existing system in the bus and display only the sequence number of the next stop.

I hope that the Land Transport Authority will take up this suggestion to provide useful information to bus travelers. This will encourage more people to take public transport.

Tan Kin Lian




 

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