Bus GPS issues add to new Transit route system confusion

A GPS failure on some Winnipeg Transit buses sparked errors in posted arrival times this week, just as riders continued to adjust to a massive overhaul of virtually every city route.

The problem led incorrect times to appear on Navigo, bus schedule boards and Transit’s website, a “widespread” issue that started on Monday, an online notice states.

“On these buses, on-board systems that display and announce the next stop won’t work. Our real-time schedule information gives incorrect times. Buses that may only be a few minutes late can appear hours late online. We are unable to track the location of some buses accurately,” the notice says.

While Transit stressed the technical issue is not related to the launch of its new primary network on June 29 and noted a repair is on the way from its supplier, the head of city council’s public works committee said she fears the issue added to rider confusion.

“It doubles the frustration level, in my opinion. If you could ever have anything go wrong, why does it have to happen when you’re transitioning (to a new network)?” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West).

Lukes said she has received complaints about missed and late buses and suspects this issue may be partly to blame.

“People will have a hard time figuring out what time their connections are (for a bus transfer). (And) that’s the key in this new network, in the new route system … If you can’t get accurate information, that’s a problem.”

The new network uses a spine-and-feeder concept, where direct spines along major corridors are supported by a network of feeder routes, meaning many rides that begin outside of a main route now require transfers.

Winnipeg Transit’s innovation and technology manager said the issue is affecting GPS units that are about 20 years old and were already slated for replacement.

“It is older technology and we are currently in the process of replacing it … It did experience some failures before we were fully able to complete the replacement,” said Kirk Cumming, adding a supplier is working to fix the problem.

“The supplier … has identified a fix and is rolling out a fix gradually … We hope to have that in place over the course of the weekend.”

Transit expects the broader replacement program for buses with dated GPS will be completed by 2028.

The service believes about 15 per cent of bus location reports are coming in notably off course, though the full extent of the problem is still being assessed. Transit is now posting scheduled times for buses it identified as having the problem, instead of updating their location and timing with GPS data, Cumming said.

He said Transit hasn’t experienced this type of technical problem before and it’s not confined to certain routes.

“Buses are dispatched to different routes on different days, (so) there’s no connection between the route and the problem. It’s based on the bus,” he said.

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Transit said the issue was first detected Tuesday, when some bus drivers reported their on-board “next stop” announcement was not working. Once the City of Winnipeg learned more about the source and extent of the problem, the public alert was issued.

“We definitely recognize there’s additional inconvenience here that this is creating for passengers, because they’re in the middle of adjusting to the new stops and the new routes (of the primary transit network) and it’s really unfortunate timing because of that. We’re working as fast as we can to mitigate the issues (with our supplier),” Cumming said.

Transit is also replacing some buses with the GPS issue with other fully functional ones whenever possible, as work continues to fix the problem, its website notes.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.