How often have you been waiting for a bus or streetcar for what seems like an eternity? More and more people join you in wait and still there is no transit vehicle in site. Has something gone amiss? Should you stay or should you look for an alternate route. You have no idea, so you wait. The TTC is going to change all of this.

By 2010 the TTC will be providing next vehicle arrival information on streetcar and bus platforms thanks to a new $5.2 million GPS-based screen system. Inside stations LCD displays will post the times that the next vehicles are due to arrive in addition to showing a map pinpointing the locations of the other streetcars and buses on the route. LED screens will be utilized to publish next vehicle arrival information on platforms.

Towards the end of 2009 LED screens at approximately 350 outdoor transit shelters will be displaying next vehicle arrival times. Although 6,000 TTC surface stops have transit shelters, new shelters that are wired with LED signs will have to be installed. The locations of the new shelters have not yet been made public although it is expected that the shelters at high traffic major intersections will be selected. There is no word yet on how many transit shelters will be wired for LED displays after the initial 350 are completed.

Until there is system wide access to next vehicle arrival information on platforms and on transit shelters, in 2009 riders will be able to receive this information for more than 10,000 bus and streetcar stops in the city via text messaging. There will be a number posted at each stop that riders can use to access next vehicle arrival information. The TTC is also planning to launch new service that will help riders map and time a route anywhere in the system. There are also plans to upgrade the TTC website and make all of the information available online.

Image courtesy Flickr.com