People riding the Park City buses someday might not need to wonder when the bus arrives at the next major stop — a high-tech system might provide the information.
City Hall is considering purchasing hardware and software that would be put into the buses and at major stops to give riders more information about the routes. Park City officials recently received six responses from firms that sell the systems. Destry Pollard, who leads the transit operations, said he hopes a system is installed by late in 2011, toward the start of the next ski season.
“I think it will aid in passengers knowing where their bus is,” Pollard said.
A system would display arrival times at major stops like the Old Town transit center, the mountain resorts and the stop outside the Fresh Market grocery store. It would also offer a countdown for the bus arrivals. Pollard said the system could feed the information onto the buses as well.
Pollard said a Global Positioning System or a cellular system would be the backbone and would track the buses as they move through Park City and the Snyderville Basin.
Timetable information is currently posted in printed form at bus stops.
“It will make it a more user-friendly experience,” Pollard said, adding that a newfangled system would be easier for visitors to understand.
Meanwhile, the transit operators could use data culled from the system to better manage the bus routes, Pollard said, indicating that information could be gathered showing where buses arrive at stops late.
City Hall intends to seek federal funding to purchase a system.
Park City operates a bus system anchored at the transit center and stretching into the city’s outlying neighborhoods. An agreement with Summit County leaders has brought the system into the Snyderville Basin as well.
The bus system has long been a priority for City Hall, with officials seeming determined to keep it free for riders and widely promoting the buses as an alternative for people who might otherwise drive themselves or take taxis. The buses, leaders say, cut traffic and are better for the environment than private vehicles.