People rang the "smiley face bell" waiting bell, but suddenly there were other available buses coming into the station, so they hurriedly got on the bus without pressing cancel.

(Photo by reporter Chen Jianzhi)

[Reporter Chen Jianzhi/Taichung Report] The Taichung City Transportation Bureau spent more than 20 million yuan to set up "smiley bell" service lights at 236 bus shelters in the city. DPP City Councilor Zhang Fenyu inspected multiple stations and found that many people still do not know The function of the button, some sites do not even have explanatory text, and even the bell display board is covered by trees, and even if the public presses it, they are still accustomed to raising their hands to "call a car with human flesh", or press the bell but take a different bus. The abolition of empty parking for bus drivers makes this equipment useless. It is suggested that the city government should spend its budget on the edge of the knife and give priority to the establishment of bus shelters and arrival display equipment.

Zhang Fenyu said that the Transportation Bureau spent more than 12 million yuan in January 2022 to install service light systems at 136 bus shelters in the city. Just press the bus route you want to take, and a wheelchair pattern will appear. At the end of last year, it spent more than 8 million yuan to build new ones 100 seats, and change the icon to a yellow "smile bell".

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Zhang Fenyu pointed out that there are currently 8 bus shelters in Wufeng, Dali, where "smiley bells" are installed. She visited and found that the button was built at different times, and there are multiple versions of the appearance. Many people do not know the function of the button. Some bus shelters inform The way of use is that some small lines of characters are difficult to read. Even if people ring the bell and wait for the bus, they are still accustomed to standing on the side of the road and waving.

Zhang Fenyu said that the ringing bell at the bus shelter is not connected to the bus, and the driver can only visually check whether the "smiley face bell" display panel is on or not. The sight of the lights is even worse at night, or the display board is covered by branches and signboards, or even the wrong lights are not canceled, or pranks are pressed indiscriminately, and the lights are on but there are no passengers.

The reporter went to the Wufeng Provincial Council Station for on-the-spot investigation and found that there was no explanatory text next to the waiting bell operation button on the scene. The bus still hurriedly stood out and raised their hands to "call a car with human flesh". Two people pressed the No. 50 and No. 200 buses respectively, but when they saw the "Green 3 bus" coming into the station, they shouted "You can also take this ride" and hurried I got on the bus, but didn't press cancel. After a few minutes, the No. 50 bus arrived and saw someone ringing the bell on the display board. I slowed down and entered the station and found no one wanted to sit before leaving.

Zhang Fenyu pointed out that New Taipei City tried to use the "smart button" to call a car at a bus booth, and Taoyuan also tried to use a route button to call a car last year, but it was not adopted in the end. The city government should learn from the experience of other counties and cities and not repeat the same mistakes. It seems that this equipment is useless and superfluous, and believes that the city government should use the budget on the knife edge, and first popularize the original counties and districts to set up bus shelters and bus arrival display equipment.

The Municipal Transportation Bureau stated that the service lights of the bus shelters provide button or input keyboard functions according to the number of bus stops. The service lights at some stations are blocked by road trees or signboards or have no operating instructions. The Transportation Bureau will comprehensively review and improve.

Regarding the people who are not familiar with the operation of the equipment and the drivers who do not stop at the station, the Transportation Bureau will continue to strengthen publicity and require the industry to strictly urge drivers to stop and pick up passengers in accordance with the service lights. Due to the good response, it is expected that more than 100 bus shelters will add waiting bells this year. equipment.

People rang the "smiley face bell" waiting bell, but worried that the bus would run away, they still used to raise their hands to "call a bus with human flesh".

(Photo by reporter Chen Jianzhi)

The display panel of the waiting bell at Wufeng Agricultural and Industrial Station was blocked by tree branches, and the bus driver could not see clearly.

(Photo by reporter Chen Jianzhi)

The waiting bell keyboard at Wufeng Provincial Council Station does not have any explanatory text, and some people do not know the function of this device.

(Photo by reporter Chen Jianzhi)

The people had left on other buses, but because the "Smile Bell" waiting bell had not been cancelled, the bus still slowed down when it entered the station but could not carry people.

(Photo by reporter Chen Jianzhi)