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VICTORIA – On Tuesday, August 24, BC Transit started to roll out the Trekker Breeze+ automated voice annunciators on 25 of our buses in the Victoria Regional Transit System.
The installation on the first 25 buses will ensure that the devices are working effectively with the public address system and that the street locations are being accurately announced throughout the region before final installation on the remaining fleet (255 buses).
Community members will hear the new system active on all buses in the Victoria Regional Transit System by the end of October.
Announcing stops allows us to give consistent customer service to all members of our communities, and, with the Trekker Breeze+, it allows us to do this at a fraction of the price of traditional ‘Smart Bus’ technology.
Not only is the Trekker Breeze+ a great cost-effective measure, but the simplicity of the device and operation allows this ‘plug and play’ device to work easily with our current systems. The device is also hard-wired into the buses’ electrical system and sound system for limited power interruption.
The devices will be installed in a special bracket on each bus and will be activated at the beginning of each day for each bus. After the device has been turned on, there is nothing else for the operator to do except adjust the volume. If for any reason there is a technical glitch with the system, BC Transit operators will call out stops verbally until the device can be serviced at the end of the shift.
Take a listen to what you can expect when you ride one of our buses with the Trekker Breeze+:
Here’s what the installed Trekker Breeze+ looks like installed on our BC Transit buses:
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Here’s what others are saying about our latest technology:
“Members of the Canadian Federation of the Blind are very pleased that BC Transit is taking concrete steps to equip our buses with automated GPS stop annunciation devices. Five of us had an opportunity to test drive a demonstration bus that worked very well and with some fine tuning the new system will definitely make public transit more accessible for blind riders and many others.”
-Oriano Belusic, CFB representative
“Tourism Victoria congratulates BC Transit on the implementation of the location-assisted callout service. We are increasingly seeing visitors who want to experience the destination as a local does, and this includes taking public transportation. Day bus passes are one of the highest selling items at our Visitor Centre. This service will greatly assist visitors in knowing where they are in the region and help ensure they have the best possible experience in the destination.”
-Paul Nursey, President and CEO, Tourism Victoria
“This product will allow our operators to focus on safe driving while still providing good customer service.”
-Ben Williams, President of Unifor 333 (union representing Victoria transit operators)
Note: Please refer to the Media Backgrounder and [REPLACED EMBEDDED “Document_C” LINK [[Asset Included(Id:1403643473242;Type:Document_C)]] for more information on the project.
Media Contacts
Mike Russell
Media and Public Relations Advisor, BC Transit
media@bctransit.com
250-995-5720
John Barry
Manager of Corporate and Online Communications, BC Transit
media@bctransit.com
250-995-5830
