Sure, we have the schedule for our D.C. Metrobuses in hand (or even memorized), but those schedules aren’t of much help if the buses are a few minutes late (or, heaven forbid, early). I hated running out to the bus stop and seeing the rear end of a Metrobus rumbling by. Or standing in the pouring rain forlornly hoping the bus’d come by soon. Really brings on that sick sinking feeling.
No more. Using GPS tracking technology, WMATA (which runs DC area’s Metro trains and buses) now tells you how many minutes before the next bus will arrive at your favorite bus stop. And this information is updated every minute. Even better, you can access this information via the computer or via your wireless phone / pager’s Internet browser. Talk about that feeling of glee!
Via this link, you can select the route, direction, and bus stop which you want, and you’ll then see how many minutes before the next bus arrives — and the next two buses as well. You can even pull up two different interactive maps showing each bus stop and the location of each bus — and, amazingly, these maps would update themselves by moving the bus locations and updating information associated with each bus stop.
While these features truly rock, what I really, truly, desperately wanted was to be able to access next-bus information via a wireless phone (i.e., a Blackberry, Sidekick, or Palm Treo). After all, what use is this information when I’m walking to or standing at the bus stop without access to a computer? And this is where this service also excels. Just point your wireless phone’s Internet browser to wmata.nextbus.com/mini.jsp, select the route, direction, and stop you want, and get the arrival times for the next three buses. Too awesome! Don’t forget to bookmark that particular page with arrival info, so that you can quickly go back to it or refresh it for that route and bus stop whenever you want.
While information is available for only thirty-two bus routes (yes, I counted ‘em) in Maryland, Virginia, and DC, more routes are being added periodically. In addition, this service is available via Nextbus for thirty-seven (yes, again, I counted ‘em) other transit agencies all over the nation. An impressive number of local transit agencies are also included: Alexandria Dash, VA; Fairfax (CUE), VA; Howard County Transit, MD; Loyola College, MD; the National Institutes of Health, MD; and Prince George’s County Transit, MD.
Yes, that means you now have to make up a new excuse for being late to work …
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That definitely benefits the “have” or the well-off ones. Not everyone have the cell phone or pager! The GPS system within the WMATA create the societial inequality.
I occassionally have problems with the Metrobuses and ART buses for coming fifteen to twenty minutes earlier before the destination time. The buses usually park at the end of destination route and keep ingiting til the departure time. Not really practical for the bus to come down too early before the destination time up in the hill and park at the lower part of hill 10 blocks away.
Why can’t the Metro simply put the GPS pole for expectational routes to let riders know that bus already came or on the way? More logical than GPS to the well-off ones.
RLM