*This post written on the bus this morning around 8am.
I just hopped on the bus to head to downtown D.C. Total time spent waiting for the bus: 3 minutes. This is about the longest I’ve waited for a bus since I started using Nextbus to find out when the bus would arrive. This free service is available in Washington D.C. and these other campuses and cities around the U.S. and Canada. Introduced in a previous post, GPS technology and smart phones are making catching the bus a breeze.
Many people are familiar with the inconsistency that plagues bus transportation options around the world. Due to traffic, breakdowns, accidents, and other uncontrollable circumstances, a bus that shows up nearly on schedule one day will frustratingly arrive 10, 15, even 20 minutes late the next day. No more. While bus schedules will stay erratic, your schedule doesn’t have to. In Metro’s case (the Washington area’s public transportation agency), buses are now equipped with GPS tracking devices that provide real time data on speed and location of any bus along any route. Call up your route and then select your stop through the NextBus website (or the $2.99 iPhone app) on your smartphone, and it’ll tell you how many minutes you have until the bus arrives at that stop. 15 minutes? Well, it may be faster to walk to the subway stop and hop on the train. 10 minutes? I often find myself walking a few stops down toward my destination (often taking a nice walk along quiet side streets) and popping out just as the bus is catching up with me. Perfect. Here’s how it works, as written up on their website:
NextBus information is not a static schedule listing — it is actual arrival information, updated at regular intervals. Because traffic variations, breakdowns, and day-to-day problems faced by any transit provider can interrupt service, NextBus was designed to keep you on schedule even if your bus or train isn’t. From the comfort and security of a protected place, you can learn when the next bus will arrive at your stop. NextBus uses satellite technology and advanced computer modeling to track vehicles on their routes. Each vehicle is fitted with a satellite tracking system.
In Washington’s case, the Metro trains are awfully crowded during rush hour, the air often stale and hazy in the subway tunnels, and the fare is more expensive than the bus. (Side note: after a recent fare hike, I got on the subway Monday to find the conditions I just described plus a longer than usual delay. Not the way to treat your customers when you’ve just upped their fares!)
Bottom line: NextBus and similar tools take the guess work out of riding the bus. So check out NextBus or your city’s equivalent. It’s really made a difference in my commute. I can see innovations like this eventually killing the stigma of inconvenience attached to public transportation.
Update: NextBus got back to us with a nice note saying “thanks for your positive feedback and the posting on your website.” Sure thing, guys! We’re happy to support great services and products that make a difference. They also emphasized that there are many ways to access the service:
“Riders don’t actually have to buy an iPhone application to utilize NextBus predictions. We have a mobile-optimized website that anyone can use. [Our engineers] have also built a GPS-enabled mobile site that shows you – in proximity order – the nearest bus stops and a map that shows you where the stop is in relation to your Smartphone (go to www.nextbus.com on your mobile phone). At NextBus we do all we can to make our information accessible to everyone – including the visually disabled (our website has an ADA-compliant page that works with screen readers) and our Telephone Information System where riders can dial a number and key in their stop code to get predictions. They don’t have to own a Smartphone. “
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