TransLink admits the electronic information signs at stops along a major bus route between downtown Vancouver and Richmond don't work, can't be fixed and could soon be gone.

The digital signs along the 98 B-line between downtown Vancouver and Richmond are supposed to let people waiting at the bus stop know when the next bus will arrive.

The digital bus signs along the Vancouver-Richmond bus route don't work, TransLink officials admit.
(CBC)

The signs, which are linked to a GPS system on the buses, haven't been working for the past week, freezing up and requiring frequent reboots.

"The signs at the bus stops have been duds," said TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie, adding the company that installed the system said it cannot be fixed.

"This system unfortunately just has never worked properly. Siemens has basically thrown up its hands and say they can't make it work."

Hardie said the GPS part of the system is working, and will continue to be used to hold green lights if buses are running late.

Officials haven't decided whether to continue to reboot the signs, or turn them off altogether.  

Translink has already spent $30 million for a new system to provide real-time estimates on other major bus routes throughout Greater Vancouver.

It's expected to be installed by August, and Hardie said he is confident the new system will work better than the old one.