BC Transit launches NextRide real-time bus location technology for three new systems
BC Transit has deployed its automatic vehicle location technology, NextRide, on the Clearwater Regional Transit System, Ashcroft-Cache Creek-Clinton Regional Transit System and Merrit Transit System.
Transit riders can now use their mobile devices and desktops to see the real-time location of their bus along its route and the predicted arrival times at identified stops. Onboard, automated announcements call out stop names, increasing comfort and convenience while improving overall accessibility.
NextRide uses automatic vehicle location technology to report real-time data. This bus location information is provided to mobility providers like Transit App so customers can track and monitor bus routes using an application that works best for them. Customers can access NextRide through multiple channels, including:
- Transit App (mobile only)
- Google Maps (desktop and mobile)
- BC Transit website
- A trip planning app
- The rider’s guide
By downloading the Transit App, customers know exactly when their bus will arrive. BC Transit provides riders with free subscriptions to Transit Royale, which now offers a wider geographical range for real-time bus tracking, a view of the full transit schedule instead of short-term departures and fun, interactive features to make the transit journey more enjoyable.
BC Transit says customers using Google Maps to plan their trips will experience a short delay in the real-time data information, as it takes several weeks for Google to start sharing this new information.
NextRide technology is funded through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. For this project, the government of Canada is contributing 50 percent, the province of British Columbia is contributing 40 percent and local government partners are contributing the remaining 10 percent. The cost for the province-wide project is C$16.8 million (US$12 million).
The NextRide project falls under BC Transit’s Smart Bus program, which introduces new technologies on buses that improve the customer experience while helping grow ridership by making transit more accessible, safer and enjoyable. The initiative aims to leverage recent technological advances to provide improved information for customers and bus operators, while also providing greater flexibility, scalability and value to BC Transit and its local government partners.
Megan Perrero | Editor in Chief
Megan Perrero is a national award-winning B2B journalist and lover of all things transit. Currently, she is the Editor in Chief of Mass Transit magazine, where she develops and leads a multi-channel editorial strategy while reporting on the North American public transit industry.
Prior to her position with Mass Transit, Perrero was the senior communications and external relations specialist for the Shared-Use Mobility Center, where she was responsible for helping develop internal/external communications, plan the National Shared Mobility Summit and manage brand strategy and marketing campaigns.
Perrero serves as the board secretary for Latinos In Transit and is a member of the American Public Transportation Association Marketing and Communications Committee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism with a concentration in magazine writing and a minor in public relations from Columbia College Chicago.
