$400k talking bus boondoggle

In recent weeks, Portland residents living along bus routes have repeatedly called Oregon’s largest transit agency to complain about the audible warning systems misfiring at all hours.
When the buses turn, a woman’s voice declares, “Pedestrians, the bus is turning.” The warning sounds twice.
“It sounds like a woman yelling in the street every time one of the buses with this technology goes by,” said Dave Anderson, who lives where the No. 75 follows Portland’s windy Northeast Wistaria Drive.
The Federal Transit Administration gave TriMet a $400,000 grant to test emerging pedestrian-alert technologies on the streets of Portland.
JOE ROSE BLOG