GPS Tracking Cuts Sense of Time in Half for Transit Riders
Once again, a small, nimble business is outperforming a huge bureaucracy in delivering something useful to citizens. NY Waterway, which operates 42 buses in Manhattan, gives riders real-time bus-arrival information on its website via GPS fleet tracking, something the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has been unable to provide for decades.
NY Waterway will track its buses as they travel to and from ferry terminals in New York. The MTA hasn’t even been able to get countdown times working right at its bus stops around the city.
As we’ve noted before, GPS fleet tracking can actually help calm transit riders’ nerves. That’s the contention of a creator of OneBusAway, a free service in Seattle that delivers bus arrival times by cell phone, website and SMS text messaging.
Developer Kari Watkins, a University of Washington doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering, told Cellular-News.com:
“When people have to wait, they think that twice as much time is passing. So if you’re standing at a bus stop for five minutes, you perceive that time to be 10 minutes. If I know ahead of time, I can grab that cup of coffee and be back out in time to catch my bus. And that kind of information makes taking public transit so much more livable
The OneBusAway website displays bus locations by address, route or bus number in real time overlaid on Google maps of Seattle. There’s also a webpage that displays data in an iPhone-like layout.
Joining a growing number of university campuses that have launched GPS fleet tracking systems for shuttles and buses is Cal Poly Pomona. It was developed by a professor at the Southern California university. According to Metro-Magazine.com:
… the GPS-based system continually updates the location of the university’s six shuttle buses, which cover three routes. It then translates that data into arrival times at the 32 different bus stops on the campus.
Echoing the calming effect cited by the Seattle developer, a Cal Poly official said:
“In the past, there always was that unknown factor. Where’s the bus? When it is coming? This system is definitely going to enhance the service for our riders.”
Often missing from articles about transit GPS fleet tracking systems are examples of how drivers benefit once they’re in place. Having informed riders undoubtedly reduces distractions, allowing drivers to focus more attention on the road. Need some more reasons to consider GPS fleet tracking? Here’s a bunch.
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