MetroSpec LCD digital bus stop totems with inbuilt voice annunciators and hearing loops have been installed at Adelaide City bus stops for the South Australian Department of Planning.
The sleek, weather-resistant bus stop totems feature a 32in high-bright LCD display which is readable in sunlight and which displays arrival times of buses in realtime as well as other service information for commuters.
The new digital bus stop displays can help the visually and hearing impaired gain access to realtime travel information, through their inbuilt voice annunciators and hearing loops, in a variety of ways.
Commuters can simply push the button on the totem to activate the reading of timetable information. Alternatively, people with hearing aids can also tune into the voice annunciator broadcast simply by activating the T-Switch on their hearing device.
The inbuilt digital hearing loop system contains an inbuilt coil. This enables it to broadcast information to a wider height range with a strong signal and little interference. The totem is also easily installed because perimeters don’t have to be built into the floor to receive communication.
In addition, the LCD Bus Stop Totem also has an inbuilt wireless PC which connects back to existing realtime passenger information networks. As a result, information can be modified or updated if there are any network disruptions.
MetroSpec Displays is the custom designed outdoor LCD and LED display and software division of Australian system designer and manufacturer Metromatics.
In comments to AV Magazine, Metromatics marketing manager Janine Meade said: “We believe these systems are the world’s first to incorporate these added extra features in one system. We have had great positive feedback from both the public, community groups and the public transport operator in Adelaide and we are currently in the process of building some more units for them.
“Prior to the Adelaide installation, we consulted and did some preliminary testing with some of the community groups who would use this type of technology. They were excited at the prospect of the system which would make it easier for them to use public transport to travel. They provided great feedback and suggestions for other features that would assist them even further and we look forward to incorporating these suggestions into our future models.”
Metromatics has also recently installed a slightly different version of this public transport totem at a Cross River Rail Project in Brisbane, Queensland. These standalone units incorporate a voice annunciator and inbuilt augmented hearing loop system which reads timetable information and services messages from an LCD passenger information display located several metres above.
