The TTC has begun testing talking buses on the 11 Bayview and 7 Bathurst routes and is gathering rider feedback on the new external route and destination announcements.

The external announcements are being presented as an improvement in accessibility for visually impaired riders.

“The bus automatically identifies itself by broadcasting its destination when the front door opens,” said a statement from the TTC on Monday.

Bus numbers 8200, 8300, 8350 and 9050 will provide the announcements from a speaker near the front door.

The new Bombardier low-floor streetcars already provide the announcements. Next year, the newest subway trains, the Toronto Rockets, will be retrofitted with external announcements too.

Riders are being encouraged to tell the TTC what they think of the new talking bus feature by calling the customer service line at 416-393-3030, seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Talking buses and forward-facing dashboard cameras, already in use in York Region, and other North American transit systems, were among the measures the TTC said it would test in the wake of the death of Amaria Diljohn, 14, last December.

That will still happen but TTC spokesman Brad Ross said he didn't know when those safety tests will take place.