Halifax Transit's GoTime going, replaced by Departures Line

Halifax Transit's venerable GoTime system is going, replaced by a new Departures Line that will give passengers live information on bus routes.

"The new system is great because it's actually relying on real-time data," said spokeswoman Tiffany Chase.

The new GPS system is installed on 75 per cent of the fleet's buses, and should be fully installed by the end of June. Passengers now dial 902-480-8000, enter your bus-stop number (printed on the bus-stop sign), and you'll find out when the next bus is due.

It'll take a few months to change all 2,500 bus-stop signs in HRM. The old system will keep working until they're switched over.

A note on the language:

• "Scheduled to depart" means that bus doesn't have GPS information and that's just the time printed on the schedule
• "Estimated to depart" means it's using real-time GPS technology for a live estimate

"As we can actually see where all the buses are through our communication centre through this new system, we will be able to identify if there is a major traffic incident and if we will have to skip a trip," Chase says.

Chris Dennis, who uses Halifax Transit, said the new system is long overdue.

"Sometimes you're waiting for a bus, you don't know how long it's going to be. It would be nice to call just before you leave the house to see that it's just down the road, 'Hey I've got to jump out and catch that bus real quick,' instead of having to wait another half hour in the rain or something like that," he said. 

"I think it's something great that they should have put together a long time ago."

The only way to use it is by calling that number. Chase says Halifax Transit plans to later roll out a web-based system so you can see where your bus actually is.

Halifax Transit may open the data to third parties so independent developers can create apps to make bus riding a little easier in the city. 

The change is part of a $43-million upgrade to the system.