More new buses is a good thing, but the lack of wifi is seriously putting NXWM behind in my opinion. Most of the routes are urban based so its not exactly difficult.
Can anybody answer the question of why new NXWM vehicles still dont have wifi?
Is it the additional cost?
Or is it for some other reason. Really its about time for it, its the only thing missing.
....Btw, I'm envisioning that in the future you'll be able to press the stop bell button from your smartphone.
Quote from: Ben on April 03, 2015, 12:16:42 PM
More new buses is a good thing, but the lack of wifi is seriously putting NXWM behind in my opinion. Most of the routes are urban based so its not exactly difficult.
Can anybody answer the question of why new NXWM vehicles still dont have wifi?
Is it the additional cost?
Or is it for some other reason. Really its about time for it, its the only thing missing.
....Btw, I'm envisioning that in the future you'll be able to press the stop bell button from your smartphone.
WiFi is a really interesting one. I think it's useful on longer journeys eg X51 and the new routes to Cannock and Stafford. However, on short journeys, is it really needed? Most passengers have some sort of 3/4G on their smartphone with a decent amount of data, so why would WiFi really be needed?
I think it'll become more and more common though, along with power plugs. Bizarrely, the cross Durham route 64 which is a fairly short route has power plugs installed on the e200's.
I believe Preston Bus have even trialled music on buses, not sure how popular that has been though
Think they tried it on the 50 one time and didn't not give a decent ROI
Quote from: DiamondDart on April 03, 2015, 12:24:29 PM
I believe Preston Bus have even trialled music on buses, not sure how popular that has been though
I live in Preston when I'm not in Midlands...
Basically their system is just FM radio (Usually local station rock fm, played over a sound system. Ok quality, but not the same as having wifi).
Journey length to me seems unimportant, it takes merely seconds to load an important e-mail or check the news headlines.
Some people like myself have less data allowance.
Quote from: Ben on April 03, 2015, 12:40:25 PM
I live in Preston when I'm not in Midlands...
Basically their system is just FM radio (Usually local station rock fm, played over a sound system. Ok quality, but not the same as having wifi).
Journey length to me seems unimportant, it takes merely seconds to load an important e-mail or check the news headlines.
Some people like myself have less data allowance.
That's interesting! Take it you use Preston Bus a fair bit then? I'm surprised they'd pick a rock fm station...
True about checking emails etc on shorter journeys but it's far more likely on longer journeys.
@DiamondDart For the 54/154, i presume that 853 & 854 will be commonly used on there as they have Wi-Fi fitted, and when the Platinums arrive, the X51 will have buses with Wi-Fi
Quote from: DiamondDart on April 03, 2015, 01:01:16 PM
That's interesting! Take it you use Preston Bus a fair bit then? I'm surprised they'd pick a rock fm station...
True about checking emails etc on shorter journeys but it's far more likely on longer journeys.
I don't use the bus that much in Preston because for me most things are in walking distance (i.e being a student).
Rock fm isn't actually a rock station, its like Free radio here in the Midlands really, top 40 chart music and pop classics.
It surprises me that NX don't want to data harvest unlike a lot of other big companies... Perfect oppurtunity to with wifi.
Quote from: Ben on April 03, 2015, 01:32:10 PM
I don't use the bus that much in Preston because for me most things are in walking distance (i.e being a student).
Rock fm isn't actually a rock station, its like Free radio here in the Midlands really, top 40 chart music and pop classics.
It surprises me that NX don't want to data harvest unlike a lot of other big companies... Perfect oppurtunity to with wifi.
Aah, fair enough! A generic station like Free makes sense. GNE do a lot with Metro radio in the North East which is kind of similar.
Very true about Data harvesting, then partnerships/exclusive deals can be offered through bus companies for products/services bus passengers are using...
Why do we need wifi for such a short journey? Longer ones, maybe. But that's being addressed during the summer with the introduction of Platinum routes.
If you're that important or impatient that you need to be checking emails every few seconds then you would almost certainly have a data package with your phone provider that would support this. Either that or you could claim phone use on company expenses.
I think it's important on trains that have longer journeys, but 70people all trying to use it on one bus? It would be the slow that it would be easier and quicker to use phone data.
Using wifi is also good for those who use social media a lot!
Quote from: Alex on April 03, 2015, 01:04:09 PM
@DiamondDart For the 54/154, i presume that 853 & 854 will be commonly used on there as they have Wi-Fi fitted, and when the Platinums arrive, the X51 will have buses with Wi-Fi
I suspect a few more E200's (861-3 possibly) will be equipt with WiFi to go alongside 853/4
I'm sure eventually WiFi will be a common thing on NX buses. I'm more concerned with the lack of WiFi on London Midland stock, I don't really expect it from Arriva Trains Wales
I have a smartphone and a tablet, but I have no need for wi-fi, and I don't know what the obsession is with people demanding free wi-fi everywhere.
(I'm quite happy to leave my phone in my pocket and my tablet in my bag, and just sit back and enjoy my bus journey, without worrying about emails or Facebook for 20 minutes a day)
"Free wi-fi" comes at a cost - the equipment and data connection isn't free for NX or any other bus operator; no doubt the same people demanding free wi-fi on buses are also the same ones moaning about fare increases every year! Then there are the privacy implications, these 'free' services nearly always require you to 'sign up' with them and require personal information as part of the registration process. Plus the connection is unsecured, so anyone could hack in and intercept your data.
My phone contract comes with an unlimited data usage deal anyway, so if I really badly need to access the internet on the move, I'll use my own data connection anyway, thank you very much!
I personally don't think they should have WiFi on normal services anyway. Normal services are often start and stop and the use of WiFi will be limited. Plus being a technological person, I would surmise the over 40 people potentially accessing the same network would cause havoc on the bandwidth side and result in slow speeds.
I do however think on express routes and shuttle buses they have a place as the journey time on them sufficient to make use of WiFi.
@Stu what I do with free WiFi is use a VPN I've set up to route via. More secure!
Quote from: Stu on April 03, 2015, 06:46:20 PM
I have a smartphone and a tablet, but I have no need for wi-fi, and I don't know what the obsession is with people demanding free wi-fi everywhere.
(I'm quite happy to leave my phone in my pocket and my tablet in my bag, and just sit back and enjoy my bus journey, without worrying about emails or Facebook for 20 minutes a day)
"Free wi-fi" comes at a cost - the equipment and data connection isn't free for NX or any other bus operator; no doubt the same people demanding free wi-fi on buses are also the same ones moaning about fare increases every year! Then there are the privacy implications, these 'free' services nearly always require you to 'sign up' with them and require personal information as part of the registration process. Plus the connection is unsecured, so anyone could hack in and intercept your data.
My phone contract comes with an unlimited data usage deal anyway, so if I really badly need to access the internet on the move, I'll use my own data connection anyway, thank you very much!
I agree entirely. WiFi shouldn't be mandatory on public transport. If its there then fair enough I'll use it. However, operators equip buses with WiFi, advertise it, but you can bet nobody will have noticed because it seems people cant detach themselves from their phones. If you need internet access on the move, invest in a better mobile phone tariff
I think the main reason NXWM are not using it on a large majority of routes is because it can be one of there SP for the platinum routes, use our us not their's ours has wifi. it's more of a premium than regular.
If you can't do without wifi/social media on what is more than likely a short journey, you should have the equipment to provide it for yourself. You should not need to charge up your device on a bus. If it's that important, make sure it's charged before you leave home. Power sockets, 5 volt or 230 volt, have no place on a bus (has no-one ever heard of terrorists?). If you want entertainment on a bus, look out the of window at the world and life around you. While the manufacturing side is having to bend over backwards to cut vehicle emissions, fuel consumption and weight, having to provide these facilities (free of course) adds to all three, as well as the added complication and expense during manufacture. How much admin time will be wasted in future due to complaints that the "0804hrs. 558 from Dudton to Wolverhampley had no wifi and I couldn't have a shave because the socket didn't work"?
If these facilities were removed, just how many passengers would be lost?
Quote from: the trainbasher on April 03, 2015, 07:20:03 PM
@Stu what I do with free WiFi is use a VPN I've set up to route via. More secure!
For the rare occasions I use my tablet when I'm not at home or in the office, I use my phone as a 'portable hotspot'. Or 'mi-fi' as I believe its called!
I can appreciate the need for wi-fi on long train journeys, but seriously, same as those who eat food on buses, if you can't wait until you get to your destination to get your Twitter or Facebook fix, then you seriously have a problem!
Quote from: Matt on April 03, 2015, 08:49:40 PM
In my experience for whatever reason it can be quite difficult to get a 3G data signal on trains so it is useful to have wi-fi particularly for businessmen and women on long commutes.
You have to be careful about putting wi-fi willy-nilly on buses though as it can get quite expensive as people will abuse it by streaming movies and videos.
Most companies eg Arriva block music/video streaming/YouTube etc on their WiFi...
As a sales rep back in the day would be the only reason i would stop at maccy d's car parks to use their hot spot. Seriously with technology these days it does not need to be mandatory, let's face the majority of peeps usinf it on public transport will be teenies checking who said what on facebook.