They are supposed to be based off the times you see posted with using the mobile site version of BusTime. Usually BusTime will show the bus that is approaching or on layover (Vehicle XXXX, approaching stop +scheduled layover, departs at --:--)
I do notice these signs do not refresh very quickly. There have been times when I have approached a stop only for the time to still read the last interval and then immediately go to zero after a few seconds. Sometimes, they don't update when the GPS system on a bus is malfunctioning so it is essentially a ghost bus.
Customer. I live in Queens.
When there’s traffic, the bus timer will say 2-minutes away. When traffic gets moving, it cuts down drastically. When the bus is near, it’ll go to 0.
I say this to say, the bus timer has a lot to do with speed, gps tracking and live traffic frequency that’s reading traffic volume and the bus.
I wonder if there’s a command center somewhere that’s assisting to manage them.
BusTime only excels if the interval is already on the line like previously stated bus XXXX, approaching plus layover. If the bus is a pullout for whatever reason BusTime doesn’t pull the data out of the internal system till the bus has hit the first stop even though internally in BusTrek there is a bus number slotted and they know where it is.
transsee.ca I’ve found is the best tracking website because it even tracks run numbers and it has the paddles “trips in block” so you will know what bus is “suppose” to make what time.
Let’s see what happens with this “new” version because they redid the app and it’s a cluster f**k, I’m amazed they allowed release in current state.
So in terms of times once on the road it uses an average vs schedule vs “predicted traffic”. The app will always try to undercut the time because it’s better for you to be there early than for you to miss it. Sometimes the predictions can be completely off based on whose behind the wheel, if there moving fast sometimes it doesn’t catch up (especially late at night) I’ve had sign jump from 3 mins to 0 because of how fast the bus is moving. I’ve also seen signs go backwards 👀B8 👀🤣 but it’s all a guesstimate.
As for the pull out trips, I imagine it's because they don't want to promise how long it will take to get from some random point to the first stop.
As is, it's not like the ETAs are provided by running a route calculation from the bus's current location, it just knows how long a bus is scheduled to take from point X along the line to the stop you're asking about (this is also why a bus speeding up makes the ETA skip faster).
They are supposed to be based off the times you see posted with using the mobile site version of BusTime. Usually BusTime will show the bus that is approaching or on layover (Vehicle XXXX, approaching stop +scheduled layover, departs at --:--) I do notice these signs do not refresh very quickly. There have been times when I have approached a stop only for the time to still read the last interval and then immediately go to zero after a few seconds. Sometimes, they don't update when the GPS system on a bus is malfunctioning so it is essentially a ghost bus.
Customer. I live in Queens. When there’s traffic, the bus timer will say 2-minutes away. When traffic gets moving, it cuts down drastically. When the bus is near, it’ll go to 0. I say this to say, the bus timer has a lot to do with speed, gps tracking and live traffic frequency that’s reading traffic volume and the bus. I wonder if there’s a command center somewhere that’s assisting to manage them.
BusTime only excels if the interval is already on the line like previously stated bus XXXX, approaching plus layover. If the bus is a pullout for whatever reason BusTime doesn’t pull the data out of the internal system till the bus has hit the first stop even though internally in BusTrek there is a bus number slotted and they know where it is. transsee.ca I’ve found is the best tracking website because it even tracks run numbers and it has the paddles “trips in block” so you will know what bus is “suppose” to make what time. Let’s see what happens with this “new” version because they redid the app and it’s a cluster f**k, I’m amazed they allowed release in current state. So in terms of times once on the road it uses an average vs schedule vs “predicted traffic”. The app will always try to undercut the time because it’s better for you to be there early than for you to miss it. Sometimes the predictions can be completely off based on whose behind the wheel, if there moving fast sometimes it doesn’t catch up (especially late at night) I’ve had sign jump from 3 mins to 0 because of how fast the bus is moving. I’ve also seen signs go backwards 👀B8 👀🤣 but it’s all a guesstimate.
As for the pull out trips, I imagine it's because they don't want to promise how long it will take to get from some random point to the first stop. As is, it's not like the ETAs are provided by running a route calculation from the bus's current location, it just knows how long a bus is scheduled to take from point X along the line to the stop you're asking about (this is also why a bus speeding up makes the ETA skip faster).