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Rapid Ride Blue Line annunciator
I was wondering, when riding the Blue Line up to Cottonwood this past week, I have noticed that the annunciator (the voice announcing the stops) has not yet been programmed for the stops north of Montano Plaza. I wonder why. I know that the Northwest Transit Center will be opening this Tuesday, and maybe it could be that they are waiting until it opens before reprogramming the annunciator.
I wonder if the voice for the Northwest Transit Center will be a male or female voice. Currently, there are two different female voices programmed. The older voice is heard mostly on the regular routes (non-Rapid Ride) as well as the "Stop Requested" message. The newer voice is mostly on the Rapid Ride routes, and can also be heard on a few intersections on the regular bus routes and on the door messages on a few routes. Since the Northwest Transit Center will be a completely new stop, I wonder if a new voice will be introduced for the stop.
I personally think the annunciators are a good help for the visually impaired. However, one way that I would improve them is to have the stops announced in both English and Spanish. There are many people who speak Spanish here, so I think it should be in both languages.
I wonder if the voice for the Northwest Transit Center will be a male or female voice. Currently, there are two different female voices programmed. The older voice is heard mostly on the regular routes (non-Rapid Ride) as well as the "Stop Requested" message. The newer voice is mostly on the Rapid Ride routes, and can also be heard on a few intersections on the regular bus routes and on the door messages on a few routes. Since the Northwest Transit Center will be a completely new stop, I wonder if a new voice will be introduced for the stop.
I personally think the annunciators are a good help for the visually impaired. However, one way that I would improve them is to have the stops announced in both English and Spanish. There are many people who speak Spanish here, so I think it should be in both languages.
Tags: annunciator, blue, line, rapid
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dave on -
I sent a suggestion to ABQRide a few weeks ago asking if they could announce other bus routes when at intersections, and when the hours of service were and approximate frquency. So, for example, when the Lomas bus came to San Mateo, instead of just saying the street it would also say "Transfer to the 140/141 lines service 6am to 9pm every 15 minutes".
Got a reply from the person who is involved with this, said they were very limited with what they could do. For my suggestion, said there was no software they have (or knew of) that could feed their systems and schedules into the annunciator system.
He also said they worked very closely with agencies for the blind in constructing exactly how it would work.
I assume that part of the answer means they would not put Spanish in without working with the same agencies. I also would guess they would not change from female to male without the same consultation.
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Permalink Reply by ayax on -
I remember the good old days when drivers had a microphone and announced stops/cross buses themselves...
Come to think of it... do they announce stops at all?
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Permalink Reply by New Flyer DE40LFR on -
The Rapid Ride buses announce the stops. The regular buses announce the major intersections.
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Permalink Reply by Dave on
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I don't know, but have assumed it is recorded and stored on a computer in ABQRide headquarters, and activated by GPS locators on the bus.
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Permalink Reply by ayax on
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Yeah. I think so too. I once talked to a driver who said he missed making the announcements.
Oh well.
(In Amsterdam there used to be a singing trolley/tram driver! With a mic!)
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Permalink Reply by New Flyer DE40LFR on
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Update:
Well, it looks like ABQ RIDE has finally gotten to updating the annunciators. This morning, I was on bus 6602 on the Blue Line, and have noticed that the new stops have been programmed in. Interestingly, ABQ RIDE also added in a message on I-40 that says "I-40 Eastbound".
However, it hasn't yet been programmed on all of the Rapid Ride buses. On my way back from UNM, I was on bus 6406, and it did not have the new stops.
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