New Bus Stop Signs coming to Oak Hill neighborhoods

Each sign will have a bus stop number to help riders with cell phones find when buses are scheduled to arrive.

By Ann Fowler 

Embracing new technology, Capital Metro is in the process of installing signs unique to each bus stop. Each sign will have a bus stop number to help riders with cell phones find when buses are scheduled to arrive.

Erica McKewen of Capital Metro told the Gazette, “The new bus stop signs will be installed at 100 percent of our bus stops, including those in Oak Hill, hopefully by the end of February. Riders can text the bus stop ID# to find out the next buses to arrive, but there are other options, too, like scanning a QR code or pulling up the stop on a mobile browser.”

The signs feature the Go Line phone number for those with simpler phones, and Cap Metro still makes free route brochures and maps that can be found aboard the bus.

Right now the information sent out to riders will feature information based on the current schedule. A bus may be running 10 minutes late, but the information sent will be the on-time schedule. However, McKewen says newer technology is coming for real-time information.

She said, “We still have some technology to upgrade on our buses to make this possible, and we don’t believe that functionality will be in place until 2014. Right now what you get when you text or scan the sign is the next scheduled arrival times.”