Transit System: Comox Valley
The Comox Valley Transit System will receive a NextRide technology refresh to help provide increased certainty, convenience and bus predictability for transit customers.
Starting in August 2023, new Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) hardware will be installed on 17 buses in the Comox Valley Transit System.
There are expected to be no service interruptions during the refresh process, and riders will continue to have the ability to use smart mobile devices to see the real-time location of their bus along its route and its predicted arrival time at an identified stop.
Customers are advised that the NextRide desktop trip planning tool will be unavailable starting August 8 as we transition to new bus tracking technology. Comox residents wanting to plan their trip are advised to use the website and other real-time bus schedules including the Transit App (mobile only), Google Maps, their own favourite trip planning app or refer to the rider’s guide. Work is underway to source a new web-based trip planning tool, but it will not be available during this transition period.
By downloading the Transit App, customers know exactly when their bus will arrive and allow them to see how full a bus is at any given time. This spring, BC Transit also started providing riders with free subscriptions to Transit Royale, an upgrade to the existing version of the Transit app, which now provides a wider geographical range for real-time bus tracking, a view of the full transit schedule instead of just short-term departures and fun, interactive features to make the transit journey more enjoyable.
The NextRide Technology Refresh project is funded through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. This project is being cost shared with the Government of Canada contributing 50 per cent, the Province of British Columbia contributing 40 per cent and local government partners contributing the remaining 10 per cent. The cost for the entire project is $16.8 million.
NextRide falls under BC Transit’s Smart Bus program, which introduces new technologies on buses that improve the customer experience, while also helping grow ridership by making transit more accessible, safer and enjoyable. This initiative aims to leverage recent technology advances to provide improved information for our customers and bus operators, while also providing greater flexibility, scalability, and value to BC Transit and its local government partners.
For more information visit bctransit.com/comox-valley/home.
Media Contacts
BC Transit Communications
media@bctransit.com
