addisonwesley
April 1st, 2006, 07:51 PM
Don't make her raise her voice
Say goodbye to the bellowed bus stop announcement. There's a new voice for the city's streetcars and buses -- and it's the prim yet authoritative tones of a TTC admin assistant
JEFF GRAY
One Spadina streetcar driver used to reveal who had been kicked off the reality TV show Survivor the night before, along with the stops. On another route, one operator used science-fiction references to spice up his announcements, ordering the streetcar to "warp speed."
Bob Boutilier, the TTC's deputy general manager of surface operations, remembers the driver who "used to have a Star Wars thing . . . It was quite humorous."
But it will soon be curtains for these would-be stand-up comics.
Just as the old TTC subway doorman's whistle was replaced by a distinctive three-toned chime, starting later this year, riders will have to get used to an automated voice for all buses and streetcars: a calming, slightly deeper-than-average, prim-and-proper female voice announcing each of the system's 10,000 stops. (Operators will continue to make announcements on the subway.)
The project was spurred on by human-rights complaints from a blind lawyer who argued the visually impaired needed the announcements to use the system.
The TTC's new voice isn't computer-generated, and it doesn't belong to a radio professional. It's the voice of Cheryl Bomé, a 42-year-old administrative assistant and a TTC employee since 1983.
Her vocal chords caught the ear of those behind the pilot project. And now she is just trying not to concentrate on the fact that soon hers will be the voice of Toronto's transit system for the hundreds of thousands of riders on the city's 1,750 buses and streetcars.
"I try not to think about that as I'm recording," she said in an interview. "I just think it's kind of nice to help the citizens of Toronto."
Her TTC voice, which will simply say "next stop" followed by the name of the stop, is a little different from her regular voice, she says. "Just a constant, steady kind of tone is easier on the ears for most people."
Most of the time, her job involves "lots of meetings." But now, she is eager for her 11-year-old son to hear his mother's work.
Mr. Boutilier said Ms. Bomé's voice was chosen over several others because it sounds "very pleasant and very articulate."
But it also needed to be authoritative, he added. "It has to be strong, much like the operator when you phone Bell."
Not only has the TTC found its new voice in-house, the transit agency has also relied on the ingenuity of Steve Perron, 44, its superintendent of route management, who developed the new system's software in his spare time over the past two years. He is allowing the TTC to use it for free. (He retains ownership of the software, but he says he hasn't decided what to do with it.)
Just this week, Mr. Perron was driving around in his 12-year-old Chrysler LHS sedan, GPS hooked up to his odometer and electronics splayed across the passenger seat, testing bus routes. "I play around with different things. It's a hobby."
Designing the system in-house will cost much less than an off-the-shelf system, Mr. Boutilier said. But he acknowledged the total bill -- including components from outside suppliers -- could end up as much as double the original $4-million budget, partly because a more expensive GPS unit was required.
That would still be 40 per cent cheaper than comparable off-the-shelf systems from U.S. companies, he said, adding that the TTC will be free to change its system as it sees fit.
The first batch of the new units, 75 of them, will be installed in July. The new system will also have a male voice, activated by the driver, to tell riders to move to the back of the bus or stand behind the white line. A digital display will indicate the next stop, as well.
The TTC has been testing the system since last September. Riders on the No. 11 Bayview bus, which runs past the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and some on the Bathurst streetcar, have already got a taste of Ms. Bomé's prim tones. On the Bayview route this week, the first few announcements after leaving the Davisville station were lost in the whine of the low-floor bus's engine. But the rest of the time it was just loud enough.
The system will automatically adjust volume based on the speed of the bus, compensating for engine noise, Mr. Perron said.
Already, at least one rider has complained that the announcements disturbed his reading, but most passengers seem receptive to the change. "I find it a pleasant voice," said Maria Wehm, getting off the bus with her cane.
Say goodbye to the bellowed bus stop announcement. There's a new voice for the city's streetcars and buses -- and it's the prim yet authoritative tones of a TTC admin assistant
JEFF GRAY
One Spadina streetcar driver used to reveal who had been kicked off the reality TV show Survivor the night before, along with the stops. On another route, one operator used science-fiction references to spice up his announcements, ordering the streetcar to "warp speed."
Bob Boutilier, the TTC's deputy general manager of surface operations, remembers the driver who "used to have a Star Wars thing . . . It was quite humorous."
But it will soon be curtains for these would-be stand-up comics.
Just as the old TTC subway doorman's whistle was replaced by a distinctive three-toned chime, starting later this year, riders will have to get used to an automated voice for all buses and streetcars: a calming, slightly deeper-than-average, prim-and-proper female voice announcing each of the system's 10,000 stops. (Operators will continue to make announcements on the subway.)
The project was spurred on by human-rights complaints from a blind lawyer who argued the visually impaired needed the announcements to use the system.
The TTC's new voice isn't computer-generated, and it doesn't belong to a radio professional. It's the voice of Cheryl Bomé, a 42-year-old administrative assistant and a TTC employee since 1983.
Her vocal chords caught the ear of those behind the pilot project. And now she is just trying not to concentrate on the fact that soon hers will be the voice of Toronto's transit system for the hundreds of thousands of riders on the city's 1,750 buses and streetcars.
"I try not to think about that as I'm recording," she said in an interview. "I just think it's kind of nice to help the citizens of Toronto."
Her TTC voice, which will simply say "next stop" followed by the name of the stop, is a little different from her regular voice, she says. "Just a constant, steady kind of tone is easier on the ears for most people."
Most of the time, her job involves "lots of meetings." But now, she is eager for her 11-year-old son to hear his mother's work.
Mr. Boutilier said Ms. Bomé's voice was chosen over several others because it sounds "very pleasant and very articulate."
But it also needed to be authoritative, he added. "It has to be strong, much like the operator when you phone Bell."
Not only has the TTC found its new voice in-house, the transit agency has also relied on the ingenuity of Steve Perron, 44, its superintendent of route management, who developed the new system's software in his spare time over the past two years. He is allowing the TTC to use it for free. (He retains ownership of the software, but he says he hasn't decided what to do with it.)
Just this week, Mr. Perron was driving around in his 12-year-old Chrysler LHS sedan, GPS hooked up to his odometer and electronics splayed across the passenger seat, testing bus routes. "I play around with different things. It's a hobby."
Designing the system in-house will cost much less than an off-the-shelf system, Mr. Boutilier said. But he acknowledged the total bill -- including components from outside suppliers -- could end up as much as double the original $4-million budget, partly because a more expensive GPS unit was required.
That would still be 40 per cent cheaper than comparable off-the-shelf systems from U.S. companies, he said, adding that the TTC will be free to change its system as it sees fit.
The first batch of the new units, 75 of them, will be installed in July. The new system will also have a male voice, activated by the driver, to tell riders to move to the back of the bus or stand behind the white line. A digital display will indicate the next stop, as well.
The TTC has been testing the system since last September. Riders on the No. 11 Bayview bus, which runs past the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and some on the Bathurst streetcar, have already got a taste of Ms. Bomé's prim tones. On the Bayview route this week, the first few announcements after leaving the Davisville station were lost in the whine of the low-floor bus's engine. But the rest of the time it was just loud enough.
The system will automatically adjust volume based on the speed of the bus, compensating for engine noise, Mr. Perron said.
Already, at least one rider has complained that the announcements disturbed his reading, but most passengers seem receptive to the change. "I find it a pleasant voice," said Maria Wehm, getting off the bus with her cane.