Pasadena DOT unveils new bus arrival time measurement devices

Pasadena bus stops will be installing upgraded schedule management devices in the coming months at five of the city’s busiest locations, officials said Thursday.

The Pasadena Department of Transportation is demonstrating five new solar-powered devices at local bus stops that provide real-time bus arrival information “with the touch of a button,” according to a city announcement. The new devices have text-to-speech capabilities to help customers with visual impairments.

According to Pasadena officials, currently 115 of the city’s nearly 400 bus stops have real-time arrival announcements without text-to-speech capabilities.

The locations identified for the five Papercast demonstration devices are among the busiest bus stops in the city. The five permanent locations are:

1. Northbound Lake Avenue and Villa Street;
2. Northbound Raymond Avenue and Holly Street;
3. Southbound on Fair Oaks Boulevard and Woodbury Road;
4. Northbound Lake Avenue and Colorado Boulevard; and
5. Eastern Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue

The demonstration project is being funded by Caltrans’ Low Emission Transportation Operations Program, officials said.

As part of the project, Pasadena DOT will collect data on how the new devices meet the needs of transit customers, who will be able to provide feedback via a survey at Bit.ly/PapercastSurvey. A QR code and link will also be included on each Papercast device.

“Feedback from the survey will help determine the effectiveness of these new devices, as well as help decide on the possible installation of future devices in the city,” the announcement reads.

The demonstration devices are being supplied under an $889,503 contract between the City and Connexionz Ltd. to provide real-time bus arrival information displays.