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They have no money to keep their routes going, but they DO have money to put in tacky electronics.
It looks like Metro is doing what MUNI did 10 years ago.
Compete with Link, or any other modern public transit system.
Yeah, so much for Seattle being a technology leader.
That said, synthetic/recorded voices are usually rendered just as unintelligible as those of bored and lazy drivers.
Still, the buses in DC area have these and it’s a great help. Most of those buses don’t have the audio working, but you just need the text.
How wonderful…is this one of the ideas Metro comes up with and only implements it on 5% of the fleet before they give up, run out of money or people lose interest?
I approve as well.
Huh. Way to enter the ’90s, finally, Metro.
I wouldn’t mind if they turned the sound off (on a few buses it’s a little too loud), but the sign is great.
FINALLY.
There’s some sort of Metro’s law, where drivers on routes you know well announce all stops in a clear audible voice, but any time you’re headed someplace unknown the driver either does not announce any stops at all, or mumbles into the microphone in a way that it’s totally unintelligible.
Recorded stop announcements FTW!
Neat, but Metro is pissing away allot of money on these rapid ride b routes. I saw the bus stop across the street from Crossroads Mall and for the amount of money they spent on it, they could have provided rain shelters at 10 stops nearby. 6pm on a Friday night, maybe 25 riders on that double bus.
olympia has had this for a while. why did it take seattle so long i wonder.
@4 – I’ve never had trouble understanding the recorded voice. With the drivers, it’s a crap shoot whether you’re going to get someone who knows or cares how to use a microphone.
No, they’re trying to catch up to TriMet in Portland, whose buses have had these for years…
Comes in handy, but hard to find.
When I lived in car crazy phoenix several years ago, the bus system had these, was surprised to see metro didn’t have them yet, glad to see we’ve caught up to Phoenix!
It also tells the people at the stop which route it is and where it’s going.
Yes, but is it George Takei’s voice?
No?
The sorry Honolulu’s The Bus wins…
This is also available on most ST buses I’ve been on. RE: B-line. So they’re spanking new buses running every 10 mins during peak hours. And most of the Eastside B-line shelters also have the electronic display that tells you when your bus will be arriving. Splurge!
“I wouldn’t mind if they turned the sound off…”
The vision-impaired would…not to mention those in the back of a crowded bus.
@18 — That would be the best bus ride ever. If George Takei narrated all the bus stops, I probably would just skip my stop and stay on to the end of the route.
metro could have leapfrogged everybody by installing LCD screens in the front of the buses and playing cat videos on loop.
@22
Videos of cats, or videos appealing to cats.
@22: Many buses in L.A. have interior televisions, split-screened between a GPS live-map and a Spanish-language news channel.
@21- Especially if the bus was able to say “Oh my…” whenever it passes a shirtless hottie.