Updated Feb 11, 2009 - 12:18 pm
Riding the bus just got easier
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KIRO Radio
More people than ever are riding Metro buses these days.
As a longtime bus rider, I know for a fact there's nothing more frustrating than waiting and waiting for a bus that never seems to come.
Two University of Washington doctoral students share my pain and unlike me, they've done something about it. "It would be great if you could call up at any point in time on your cell phone, punch in your stop number, and know exactly when the bus is coming," said Kari Watkins.
Watkins and Brian Ferris have devised a system that will tell you just how late that darn bus is going to be. "If you can't actually see it on the street you're standing there wondering 'Okay, do I have a whole half-an-hour until the next bus comes?' All you have to do is make a phone call and you can get that information," said Watkins.
Here's how it works. When you call 206-456-0609, a robotic voice answers, asks you for your stop number, and then gives you the estimated time of arrival. Called ONEBUSAWAY, this system is a big help to the psychological well-being of riders.
"There's a study that shows that when you're waiting at a bus stop and you don't have information, the five minutes that pass actually seems like 10 minutes, in terms of your perceived time, because of that unknown factor. Research shows when you have this arrival data, it actually makes the time passed seem closer to real time. It's good to know," said Ferris.
At least 20,000 callers have already used the system, including people in the business. "I know a lot of people inside Metro who use this service themselves," said Ferris.
Watkins say they have big plans for ONEBUSAWAY. "Let's say you want to go out and you want to get Chinese food for dinner. We're in the process in developing a program and it can tell you: Here are the 10 Chinese restaurants you can get to from your address with an easy bus stop away."
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