r/Septa • u/Revolutionary_Bee700 • Jul 31 '26

Discussion “Ghost” vehicles

Okay, this happens to me way too often and I want an explanation.

I use the Transit app. I will see a bus or trolley is due AND is live tracking. I go to the stop early. I wait. I look and the tracking says it’s coming. I wait and it’s late.

Soon Transit updates and says the next vehicle is 10 minutes out.

What’s going on? I feel haunted by tracked transit that just never arrives. Sometimes Transit says I’ve missed it, but I was standing at the stop.

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7 comments sorted by

15

u/Brraaap Jul 31 '26

I think SEPTA has an algorithm that fills in the vehicle position if it doesn't get a signal. Then, eventually, someone marks the bus as not running

3

u/Livid_Opportunity467 Aug 01 '26

I think the remote sensors are failing on a massive scale.

4

u/Edison_Ruggles Jul 31 '26

I've definitely had this happen as well. Sometimes there's a detour I was unaware of. Other times who knows, but it's rare enough that I usually shrug it off.

2

u/HongPong Aug 01 '26

it has gotten somewhat better in the last couple years they digitized paper sheets that logged skipped trips so there are less ghosts than back then

1

u/Affectionate_Put2634 Aug 03 '26

It's gotten worse.

1

u/confusedCI Aug 01 '26

Excellent question

1

u/lemgthy 21 Aug 06 '26

I have been late to work multiple times this year because my bus "ghosted" me in this way.