Taipei City's Department of Transportation yesterday acknowledged the lack of accuracy of its Bus and Transportation Information System, promising to complete the installation of the system on all the city’s buses and to improve the accuracy within three months.
The city government spent more than NT$240 million (US$7.6 million) in 2004 to establish the system and it launched the service last year. Electronic boards at bus stops and a Web site aim to provide dynamic, real-time information on all the city’s buses.
Of the 5,800 bus stops in the city, however, the city government has only renovated 432 so far, while 49 buses have not installed the information system, Department of Transportation data showed.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chen Yu-mei (陳玉梅) yesterday criticized the system for its lack of accuracy and asked the department to improve the situation as soon as possible.
Showing several pictures taken at different bus stops around the city, Chen said the electronic boards at bus stops often provide incorrect information that confuses passengers.
“The board at the bus stop in front of Taipei Zoo, for example, said Bus No. 282 would arrive in seven minutes when the bus was leaving the stop. Passengers who believe the information could miss their bus,” she told a press conference at the Taipei City Council building.
Chen also provided pictures showing that the electronic board on the bus stop in front of Shih Hsin University showed only the time and date, and no information on bus services.
The system's problems also include a lack of electricity at bus stops.
Department of Transportation Commissioner Luo Shiaw-shyan (羅孝賢) acknowledged that, compared with the information system at MRT stations, the bus information system was not as accurate.
“The accuracy of the bus information system is about 80 percent, which is pretty high, but I agree that there's room for improvement,” he said.
Luo said the department would complete the installation of the system on all buses and at all bus stations within three months, and improve the accuracy of the system.
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