$17 million in funding to expand BC Transit's next bus stop announcements

Example of a NextRide digital display for next bus stop information. (BC Transit)

The ability to know the real-time location of a BC Transit bus and the location of the next bus stop will soon be further expanded.

BC Transit is receiving nearly $17 million to expand its NextRide digital system for its province-wide bus fleet, with $5.7 million provided by the federal government, $6.8 million from the provincial government, and $4.4 million from various municipal governments.

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NextRide has been progressively expanded across the provincial public transit bus fleet ever since it was initially rolled out to select regional bus networks starting in 2018.

The new infusion of funding announced today will allow the technology to be further expanded, by directing it toward the acquisition of automated vehicle location hardware and computer-aided dispatch software for up to 638 buses across 21 regional transit systems.

NextRide technology enables the added passenger experience improvements of onboard automatic voice announcements and digital visual displays for the next bus stop location.

📢 #PowellRiver & #SunshineCoastBC riders, we’ve upgraded our buses—and your journey—with #NextRide AVL tech!

✅ Get real-time trip updates in apps #TransitApp
✅ See & hear stops announced on board #accessibility

Info https://t.co/iv9dsiI6y9 @SunshineCoastRD @CityPowellRiver pic.twitter.com/55ftGANVLw

— BC Transit (@BCTransit) May 18, 2022

As well, the bus location data is fed online to allow passengers to better plan and track their trips, including BC Transit’s NextRide website and third-party applications such as Google Maps and the Transit App.

For BC Transit, the technology provides the provincial transit authority with real-time data on the location of their fleet to improve and respond to their operations, including schedule adherence, breakdowns, and other emergencies.

“An upgraded NextRide will offer our customers real-time transit information about bus locations, route schedules and detours,” said Erinn Pinkerton, president and CEO of BC Transit, in a statement.

“This modern technology helps riders better plan their travel, saving them time as they go about their day. We’re thankful to work with our funding partners to bring NextRide to our transit systems across the province, and we look ahead with excitement as we start planning the implementation of this upgraded and expanded service.”

BC Transit is in the midst of adopting several digital technologies, including a new smart card fare payment system called Umo — similar to TransLink’s Compass Card. But unlike the current iteration of Compass, which is set for a major upgrade potentially later this decade, Umo also comes in smartphone app form.

TransLink first adopted BC Transit’s equivalent of NextRide about two decades ago.

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