Posts
Something New(ish) Coming to a Bus Stop Near You
Have you heard the news? Metro has announced the Next Bus system will return July 1, after being taken offline back in 2007 to work out the kinks. The major problem seemed to be the sensors on the bus weren't really communicating with the "next bus" time displays at the bus stops.
As Dr. Gridlock says, "there are few moments longer than those spent standing at a bus stop, looking down the road for a sign of hope that the bus is approaching" and we've certainly all done it (probably giving up more often than not). I take the Next Bus announcement as a commendable effort to address this problem, though I admit I'm skeptical that it will be completely life-changing.
If I remember correctly, one of the more infuriating things about Next Bus when it was sort-of working was watching the "arrival time" of the next bus grow progressively later than the scheduled arrival - and the clocks weren't so great with the whole time-change thing either (as in what time does Next Bus really think it is?). So really, if Next Bus can't guarantee that the bus actually comes remotely when it's supposed to (like say, every 10 minutes), then does it make the bus that much more appealing to those who currently shun it? But hey, if it gets more people to give the bus a try, then I'm all for it.
To do some wishful thinking for a minute, if the new-and-improved Next Bus could be as accurate as next train arrival for Metro, I feel like there would be bus converts all over the place. Of course, taking the uncertainty factor out is a little trickier with traffic, but believe it or not there's already a way to partly do that for some of us surgically attached to our preferred electronic device.
Possibly my favorite thing to do with my CrackBerry (besides check the next train arrival) is to use the mobile-friendly bus schedules. With some of the lines I use most I already have access to an easy-to-read timetable that tells me whether I have any hope of catching a bus from that point in the next 20 minutes, regardless of whether or not the schedule is posted on the sign. My big complaint is that there aren't more lines with this option - why not the 42? Or the L1/L2? Or the D6? Bookmark it on the Berry or iPhone or what not - you'll thank me.
Expand this option, put it together with a functional Next Bus, and we may just find more people willing to give waiting for the bus a chance. Or at least willing to wait more than 5 minutes before shelling out the bucks for a cab.
As Dr. Gridlock says, "there are few moments longer than those spent standing at a bus stop, looking down the road for a sign of hope that the bus is approaching" and we've certainly all done it (probably giving up more often than not). I take the Next Bus announcement as a commendable effort to address this problem, though I admit I'm skeptical that it will be completely life-changing.
If I remember correctly, one of the more infuriating things about Next Bus when it was sort-of working was watching the "arrival time" of the next bus grow progressively later than the scheduled arrival - and the clocks weren't so great with the whole time-change thing either (as in what time does Next Bus really think it is?). So really, if Next Bus can't guarantee that the bus actually comes remotely when it's supposed to (like say, every 10 minutes), then does it make the bus that much more appealing to those who currently shun it? But hey, if it gets more people to give the bus a try, then I'm all for it.
To do some wishful thinking for a minute, if the new-and-improved Next Bus could be as accurate as next train arrival for Metro, I feel like there would be bus converts all over the place. Of course, taking the uncertainty factor out is a little trickier with traffic, but believe it or not there's already a way to partly do that for some of us surgically attached to our preferred electronic device.
Possibly my favorite thing to do with my CrackBerry (besides check the next train arrival) is to use the mobile-friendly bus schedules. With some of the lines I use most I already have access to an easy-to-read timetable that tells me whether I have any hope of catching a bus from that point in the next 20 minutes, regardless of whether or not the schedule is posted on the sign. My big complaint is that there aren't more lines with this option - why not the 42? Or the L1/L2? Or the D6? Bookmark it on the Berry or iPhone or what not - you'll thank me.
Expand this option, put it together with a functional Next Bus, and we may just find more people willing to give waiting for the bus a chance. Or at least willing to wait more than 5 minutes before shelling out the bucks for a cab.
0 comments:
Post a Comment