March 24-- Mar. 24--Yuba-Sutter Transit has expanded its services to include free Wi-Fi on all local fixed route buses.
The service was initiated in summer 2018 on the 13 commuter buses, before the addition was made to the 22 local fixed routes, according to a press release. Dial-A-Ride buses will not have Wi-Fi capabilities.
Wi-Fi is the first of several new technology features that will be implemented over the next few months, transit manager Keith Martin said.
Yuba-Sutter Transit will also be installing automatic vehicle location systems, automatic voice annunciation systems for stops and a computer assisted dispatching system, Martin said.
"The real time bus location data alerts a person to where the bus is currently on a route; what time it should arrive at their bus stop," Martin said.
The information can be found by typing in the bus stop number or the bus route in your smartphone or from a laptop or desktop computer. The technology is expected to be completed and available at the end of April.
The automatic voice annunciation system is a provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and helps to ensure people with diminished vision, cognitive disabilities or any other disability hear that they are approaching the next bus stop, Martin said.
Currently bus drivers are supposed to call out each stop, but the new service is expected to be completed and implemented at the end of April.
The scheduling for the bus routes is done manually, but Yuba-Sutter Transit is working to install computer aided dispatch to assist with the agency's vehicle location services.
This service is expected to be completed in May.
"We are really excited about these new services," Martin said. "They will be completed over the next few months and we will be following up with each as they roll out."
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