If you’re like me, and live in the DC metro area, then you know the frustrations of relying on the “metro” to get around. You’ve seen it all across town, business men and woman, standing in a forlorn manner next to one of the WMATA flag poles, waiting and waiting and waiting, in the rain, snow, and heat on the next Metro bus to come around, with no frame of reference on when that magical moment will be when their chariot will arrive.
Thanks to a handy application developed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the technologically inclined will be able to put these days to an end. The application, called “Next Bus”, uses the GPS units in the systems buses to approximate arrival times at every bus stop on every route. Yep, you heard me, every route, and every stop. Not only does the system allow you to directly enter in the number from the sign post at the stop to figure which bus will next arrive, but it also has a dropdown list of every stop to pick from, incase you’re not at your destination yet.
With every government sponsored application, there will always be doubters as to the usability and actual overall benefit to society. To all those naysayers out there, let me just say, I was hesitant at first to accept that this system works, but it DOES! The system routinely provides accurate timing for when the bus will arrive at your stop within a 1 to 2 minute margin of error. Pretty darn good for such an expansive transportation system, if I do say myself.
Only downsides to this application are minimal trade offs. First the application has yet to be converted completely to a mobile app, for say the iPhone or Blackberry, thus causing mobile users to have to surf to the specific page on WMATA.com. This is really just an inconvenience rather than a strike against it.
The other issue is that unfortunately, this system does not make your bus appear any quicker, it only gives you insight into when it will appear, which could possibly be worse, depending on your mindset. I embrace this new application though. It lets me know exactly when I need to appear, and has cut down on wasted moments of my life, spent in the various weather conditions in the DC area. Thank you metro!
Check out the Next bus application yourself
Comments
I tried using Next Bus a couple of days, but have so far found it more trouble than it is worth to go through all of the menus to get the info on want about my stop -- and more importantly, to be save that info for the next time. On the phone line, most of the prompts appear to be voice-activated only, meaning you can't set up speed dial to call directly for your stop next time. Instead, you have to say (i.e. scream over traffic noise on the bus stop), "Next Bus" and your stop etc. before getting to the info. Why can't they give numeric prompts that can be programmed into speed dial, so that with one button I can go right to the stop info that I need each time?
The pda version works reasonably well for the next bus, but if you're looking for the next two or three buses to pass by a stop and you're near the beginning of a line, the system may not provide any information about a bus that will be starting up in the next few minutes.
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