Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[rsxstock]

i wouldn't mind more buses get wrapped like that, looks really good

[ninjakafi_81]

Originally Posted by rsxstock

i wouldn't mind more buses get wrapped like that, looks really good

Yea, this wrap does look pretty nice but not as nice as the current Vancouver Aquarium wrap on B8019 and B8029. But I have a feeling several more buses might be wrapped for Telus so keep an eye out for them.

[deasine]

Originally Posted by theKB

i'm sure telus would happily install the infrastructure free of charge... especially with the shaw go wifi popping up everywhere. Especially since shaw doesn't have the ability to do mobile internet, unless they were acquired....

Technically Shaw does own operational rights for AWS band 1700 (same frequency as Wind) so they do actually have the capacity for wireless. They have, however, decided not to go forward with operations due to the cost/competition.

[xd_1771]

R9266 is definitely wrapped. I was at Bridgeport the other day and caught a glimpse of it idling at the unloading bus bay.

[Waders]

8125, 9258 and 9266 according to this.

The transit provider said the buses will be tasked to the 99 B-Line on Broadway, 351 White Rock-Richmond route and the 555 express at Braid-Carvolth route.

[ninjakafi_81]

I think P9258 is a great bus to equip the WiFi with since always doing the 555 which is a highway route.

Also in this article by VANCITYBUZZ


(Screen Shot from my video )

Riding on public transit just got more attractive thanks to a new pilot project to connect transit riders with free, complimentary WiFi.

The program was launched today and is a TELUS initiative and is available on three of TransLink’s Coast Mountain Bus Company transit buses on three separate routes.

One bus along each of the following routes will offer the free Wi-Fi:

99 B-Line – Commercial-Broadway Station to UBC
351 – White Rock to Bridgeport Station in Richmond
555 – Carvolth Exchange in Langley to Braid Station in New Westminster
Buses that boast free WiFi are plastered with TELUS signage both on the exterior and interior. You do not have to be a TELUS customer to access the free internet.

Currently, the only high-tech wireless amenity provided on public transit is wireless service inside SkyTrain’s Canada Line tunnel from Marine Drive to Waterfront Stations. However, it is only limited to TELUS, Rogers and Bell customers.

Over the years, TransLink has previously stated that free WiFi on transit was amongst the amenities being explored to improve rider experience. In particular, free WiFi on West Coast Express trains and SeaBus terminals and vessels could be introduced at a relatively low cost.

Metro Vancouver is not the only jurisdiction in the world implementing free WiFi on public transit buses this month. Last week, Transport for London announced that two of its famous ‘Routemaster’ double decker buses has been installed with WiFi as part of a trial initiative.

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by deasine

Technically Shaw does own operational rights for AWS band 1700 (same frequency as Wind) so they do actually have the capacity for wireless. They have, however, decided not to go forward with operations due to the cost/competition.

Conspiracy theory tells me that Rogers paid Shaw to sit on it until they could buy it.

If you read Telus's marketing, you'll see they "partnered with the BC government, to get coverage along the highways"

http://about.telus.com/community/english/about_us/for_our_customers/connecting_bc_program

Specific highlights of the new Connecting B.C. Program include:
-Upgrading approximately 450 schools to high-speed fibre optic cables.
-Providing more than 1,700 kilometres of additional cellular coverage along primary and secondary highway segments throughout B.C.
-Increasing internet bandwidth connections for designated rural and remote communities.

The thing is, even if you have a LTE capable device, you have no LTE service through half of the area outside of Greater Vancouver, and barely any 3G service along Highway 3, no matter what carrier you have. It just doesn't make a whole lot of economic sense to build a cell network in BC's geography. The flat land of Alberta is very economical.

Anyway I digress. Translink could/should actually put fixed WiFi points along the Skytrain track (They could do it as a step in upgrading Seltrac) and offer WiFi in the train cars with the landing page set to the Skytrain car they are in showing where it is on a map. If they have the capacity, maybe they could even just operate as an ISP to neighboring businesses/residential areas and could use that as a "revenue source" It's not like internet is getting any cheaper.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by Kisai

Translink could/should actually put fixed WiFi points along the Skytrain track (They could do it as a step in upgrading Seltrac) and offer WiFi in the train cars with the landing page set to the Skytrain car they are in showing where it is on a map.

This would not be a cheap thing to do, and I suspect most people would probably rather see the money spent on service improvements.

WiFi in stations, I can see. But continuous service along the route seems a bit too much like a luxury to me.

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by ninjakafi_81

I think P9258 is a great bus to equip the WiFi with since always doing the 555 which is a highway route.

Lol you'll have a whole bunch of cars crowding around the 555 on the highway.

[afreak]

Wi-Fi does not do hand-off so suggesting that it be used for upgrading SelTrac would be silly. 802.11 does not behave like cellular systems so they'd have to renegotiate every time they'd get out of range of the connection, leading to time-outs, disconnects, et cetera.

If the trains themselves had Wi-Fi setup to connect via an LTE system, it would work for the passengers onboard.

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by afreak

Wi-Fi does not do hand-off so suggesting that it be used for upgrading SelTrac would be silly. 802.11 does not behave like cellular systems so they'd have to renegotiate every time they'd get out of range of the connection, leading to time-outs, disconnects, et cetera.

If the trains themselves had Wi-Fi setup to connect via an LTE system, it would work for the passengers onboard.

http://shelf3d.com/i/SelTrac

The two-wire inductive loop system was prone to vandalism and, in newer versions of SelTrac, the control signal is transmitted inside the running rails at radio frequency+ using IEEE 802.11+ (WiFi) access points.

Hence why I mentioned it. I'm not suggesting Translink use the same infrastructure (it costs the same to run one fiber pair as it does to run a few dozen,) but it would enable having it at the stations/bus loops.

[whiteshadow]

Originally Posted by afreak

Wi-Fi does not do hand-off so suggesting that it be used for upgrading SelTrac would be silly. 802.11 does not behave like cellular systems so they'd have to renegotiate every time they'd get out of range of the connection, leading to time-outs, disconnects, et cetera.

If the trains themselves had Wi-Fi setup to connect via an LTE system, it would work for the passengers onboard.

Most enterprise-grade wifi systems handle the hand-off well without the need for time-outs, disconnects etc. and can "trick" the client devices, so this is a non-issue. I'm sure wifi could handle the requirements of an upgraded SelTrac system without issues.

[cairnstone]

The Telus bus is an example of playing catch up. Shaw has nailed down a huge amount of salons bars coffee shops greasy spoons malls to supply wifi to shaw customers. Now telus is playing catch up and trying to find new markets that telus is not in. But I have yet found a decent public wifi for anything than reading a basic text email. I en up using around 5-7 gigs a month thank god its a company phone

[DKaz]

My friend was on a 555 that was Telus wrapped. Telus employees were giving out goodies and cookies for the Wifi bus at Carvolth Exchange, but wifi didn't work for him.

[ninjakafi_81]

Originally Posted by DKaz

My friend was on a 555 that was Telus wrapped. Telus employees were giving out goodies and cookies for the Wifi bus at Carvolth Exchange, but wifi didn't work for him.

Also a friend of mine said that he also couldn't connect to R9266's wifi network.

[red-paladin]

Cisco does provide a product for telecoms which allows for handoff on 802.11.
You may see it on a transit system in Western Canada in a few years.

[jlousa]

RFP released for the new Phibbs exchange, don't think there is anything new in there that most of didn't already know but it's good to see it all laid out.

http://www.translink.ca/~/media/document..._phibbs_exchange_preliminary_design.ashx

[GlassCity]

So this Telus wifi will be for Telus consumers only? I subscribe to Telus, but I hate how Shaw does it and I don't want it to catch on. Takes away the whole point of widespread public wifi if not everyone can use it.

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by jlousa

RFP released for the new Phibbs exchange, don't think there is anything new in there that most of didn't already know but it's good to see it all laid out.

http://www.translink.ca/~/media/document..._phibbs_exchange_preliminary_design.ashx

Thanks. Park and Ride is a nice touch.

Seems like that will lock them into the current interchange design though? Aren't they about to upgrade it?

[ninjakafi_81]

Originally Posted by jlousa

RFP released for the new Phibbs exchange, don't think there is anything new in there that most of didn't already know but it's good to see it all laid out.

http://www.translink.ca/~/media/document..._phibbs_exchange_preliminary_design.ashx

Not bad, the new design looks much better than the current one. Also it seems like the new design will allow articulated buses into the loop. I remember when I rode a D60LF on the 130 last month, more than half the bus was sticking out from the bay and blocking the path of another bus. Maybe with this we could see articulated buses on the 239 ?

I guess I could add this too since I was talking about D60LF's and Phibbs Exch, second clip shows B8072 departing Phibbs Exch.

• Video Link