October 20, 2003
Hold the Bus!
A mobile tracking system is set to cut passenger waiting times for London buses by stopping the 'bunching' pattern that sees several turning up at once and then a long gap until the next one, according to Silicon.com.
"Bus operator Metroline will send text message alerts to its drivers that will allow them to speed up or slow down to maintain more even intervals between buses. A pilot of the system earlier this year on one North London route saw 70 per cent improvements in "excess waiting time" statistics".
Other SMS services give bus timetables and/or delays for passengers:
-- Dublin Bus timetables can be accessed by SMS. Travellers simply send a text message to a short code with the word BUS followed by the bus route number. Users then receive a response containing times for the next 3 buses in each direction, or include the word TOMORROW for the next day's service. [160characters.org]
Switzerland's Federal Railways, the CFF, offers the exact same kind of service. It's fabulous.
-- This service was mentioned in Ananova last fall. The Kinchbus company runs a service which enables passengers to discover exactly how far away the next bus is, giving them just enough time to get to the bus stop. Passengers send a text message it to a given number. Within 30 seconds the arrival time of the next bus is transmitted back to them by text message, thanks to satellite receivers installed on each bus.
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