Peterborough city council has approved a $1.9-million system to improve the transit experience for riders using real-time technology.
On Monday, council voted unanimously to launch the intelligent transportation system. Highlights of the system include a transit app that allows riders waiting for a bus to go online with their mobile device to check where the bus is and when it will arrive at the stop.
Coun. Don Vassiliadis, chairman of the city’s transportation committee, said the system offers riders convenience.
“You have to look at it more than being a transit app,” he said. “It has many aspects to it. It has 13 different items. Ones I pointed out was signal priority, which gives the bus the priority. If it’s running late, the green light will run a little bit longer.
“I talked about safety. There will be cameras on the interior and exterior of the buses so that will also make people feel safe, and be safer.”
Installation of the system will begin later this month and should be up and running by next spring.
Mayor Daryl Bennett did not vote or was not involved in any related discussions after declaring a pecuniary interest as a taxi company owner.
Prior to Monday’s meeting, council presented the Gordon and Arbie Holnbeck Award, an annual award given to an individual who has enhanced the quality of life for persons with disabilities in the County of Peterborough. The award was established in 1989.
Bryan Holnbeck, son of Gordon and Arbie, presented the award to Leslie Yee, a longtime volunteer with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the Council for Persons with Disabilities.
“I know that my parents would be really pleased and proud to see so many making a difference in the community that they cared so deeply for,” Holnbeck said.
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