4 ms·

KISS applies here. By keeping the 'driver presses a button' interaction, the complexity is reduced by at least a factor of 5, and the TCO ends up being much les

by Jaruzel 10y ago

KISS applies here. By keeping the 'driver presses a button' interaction, the complexity is reduced by at least a factor of 5, and the TCO ends up being much less. Sometimes, a doorbell just needs to be a doorbell.

grogenaut 10y ago
Sure but if I add all the above complications then I get automated bus tracking system where everyone on their phone can see where the bus is and when it's arriving, I can track and automatically detect issues with traffic, with the bus, with the driver. Sure you can do the simple announce but the even easier one is to just have the driver talk over a mic, he needs one anyway. There I one upp'd you on KISS. But there is a reason not to KISS.
- danarmak 10y ago
  You can publish wireless / Internet data on where the bus is, but keep the driver pressing buttons as the source of the data.
  - wongarsu 10y ago
    That's how it works in our (German) city. It works great.
  - vidarh 10y ago
    How often do you want the driver to press buttons? And how do you mark the intermediate positions in between bus stops? Because on any remotely complicated high congestion route, you will not get reasonable estimates if you only update at bus stops.
iaml 10y ago
I think you missed the implied /s
coldpie 10y ago
I think the GP was being sarcastic ;)
PunchTornado 10y ago
but the driver forgets to press the button and then people are affected. ah, was that my stop, why wasn't it announced?
- wongarsu 10y ago
  That's why bus drivers get training. And if they don't perform as expected, it's not that hard to hire a better one.
noxToken 10y ago
I am so glad you said this. With the boom of the tech industry, it feels like a lot of stuff is getting over engineered these days. Instead of products that focus on something that does it really well, it does its job mostly alright with half-broken bells and whistles.
employee8000 10y ago
Except asking a bus driver to keep track of button pushing is distracting and could endanger the lives of the passengers or people outside. The stop needs to be announced 30-60 seconds before they arrive at the stop so then is driver is still actively driving. This is something the drivers union would be all over, it's not as straightforward as you assume.
- icebraining 10y ago
  The stop needs to be announced 30-60 seconds before they arrive at the stop Why? You can announce the next stop a few seconds after departing from the current stop, and then again at the opening of the doors.
  - mantas 10y ago
    If there's a long gap between the stops, people may forget what's the next stop. Announcing at the opening may be too late or the stop has to be long enough. Even for slow passengers in a crowded bus. Announcing a minute before the stop is a good heads-up that bus is approaching the stop and people should prepare.
    - icebraining 10y ago
      Then make the delay for the announcement of the next stop adjustable, configured according to the timetable.

by Jaruzel 10y ago

grogenaut 10y ago

Sure but if I add all the above complications then I get automated bus tracking system where everyone on their phone can see where the bus is and when it's arriving, I can track and automatically detect issues with traffic, with the bus, with the driver. Sure you can do the simple announce but the even easier one is to just have the driver talk over a mic, he needs one anyway. There I one upp'd you on KISS. But there is a reason not to KISS.

danarmak 10y ago
You can publish wireless / Internet data on where the bus is, but keep the driver pressing buttons as the source of the data.
- wongarsu 10y ago
  That's how it works in our (German) city. It works great.
- vidarh 10y ago
  How often do you want the driver to press buttons? And how do you mark the intermediate positions in between bus stops? Because on any remotely complicated high congestion route, you will not get reasonable estimates if you only update at bus stops.

iaml 10y ago

I think you missed the implied /s

coldpie 10y ago

I think the GP was being sarcastic ;)

PunchTornado 10y ago

but the driver forgets to press the button and then people are affected. ah, was that my stop, why wasn't it announced?

wongarsu 10y ago
That's why bus drivers get training. And if they don't perform as expected, it's not that hard to hire a better one.

noxToken 10y ago

I am so glad you said this. With the boom of the tech industry, it feels like a lot of stuff is getting over engineered these days. Instead of products that focus on something that does it really well, it does its job mostly alright with half-broken bells and whistles.

employee8000 10y ago

Except asking a bus driver to keep track of button pushing is distracting and could endanger the lives of the passengers or people outside. The stop needs to be announced 30-60 seconds before they arrive at the stop so then is driver is still actively driving. This is something the drivers union would be all over, it's not as straightforward as you assume.

icebraining 10y ago
The stop needs to be announced 30-60 seconds before they arrive at the stop Why? You can announce the next stop a few seconds after departing from the current stop, and then again at the opening of the doors.
- mantas 10y ago
  If there's a long gap between the stops, people may forget what's the next stop. Announcing at the opening may be too late or the stop has to be long enough. Even for slow passengers in a crowded bus. Announcing a minute before the stop is a good heads-up that bus is approaching the stop and people should prepare.
  - icebraining 10y ago
    Then make the delay for the announcement of the next stop adjustable, configured according to the timetable.