While there aren't any statistics specific to Pierce County, I can attest to at least my coworkers and my use of OneBusAway. My coworkers both use it on a regular basis as an iPhone App when they take the bus. I have been using the SMS text message option since I'm too cheap for an internet phone.
As for my experience, I have nearly all compliments for OneBusAway. I think I may have found myself more inclined to take transit now that I can tell exactly when the bus is coming. This is quite important to me since I can bike anywhere in Pierce County almost as quickly as taking the bus. One time I found that it would be quicker to walk from UW Tacoma to Tacoma Bike than it would be to wait for the next bus. While testing out OneBusAway, it was noticed that at some bus stops, the stop id number is prominently displayed which enables the quick querying of real-time arrival information. With this addition, I can now just send a text message to check what time the bus is coming instead of carrying around a schedule book.
However, as expected with new launches, a few minor issues came up. The easy issues were fixed rather quickly according to OneBusAway creator Brian Ferris. Still though, some common problems still exist that are sometimes hard to control. These include bus operators changing or not changing the bus headsign before or after they are supposed to.
Another unfortunate item is that the stop numbers are not at every single route and are noticeably absent at Transit Centers. I also have been noticing is that it appears that a really early estimated arrival time is given for some routes that have yet to begin their journey (especially my favorite 594 route in downtown Seattle). But these problems seem to be getting fixed quickly. Brian has noted that a number of small issues have been fixed already including a problem where some "Dummy Stops" were being shown as part of the bus schedule.
So that's my experience. Do any of our other readers have some feedback about OneBusAway?
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I have used the web based version from computers at work and have found it to be incredibly useful. It is particularly useful to know when a bus is going to be late so I don't have to bust it when trying to catch a bus that I end up having to wait on for 10 minutes when I get to the stop, usually in bad weather with hobos waiting for their victims in the bus shelters.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't noticed that the bus stop number was displayed. That's nice to know that they are getting put up. All in all, it's a great resource. I can't believe it's a free iPhone app.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had any problems with it as of yet. I tend to plan my routes and connections on my home or work computer, then I set up bookmarks for my stops on my iPhone app. Mostly, I use it so I can leave my house or office with enough time to get to the stop, with only a minute or two to wait for the bus. It seems to work great for that. A big time saver, gives me confidence that the bus is coming, I haven't missed it, and of course it means I don't have to wait in the wind and rain.
The Android version of the OneBusAway app rocks. I can tell when a sequence of buses will be late, if I can make a connection en-route. I have taken interconnecting buses I haven't taken in years because now I can be more certain about the connections. That isn't to say that everything works - stuff is still timed at the transit centers so the mid-route connections are still dodgy.
ReplyDeleteOnce there's a trip planner integrated into this, with some sort of cloud storage for favorite trips (so the app can learn travel patterns and make suggestions) it will seriously be a killer app for transit. And seriously - the best thing of all is that it's free.
I could see this technology being mined heavily and integrated into some of the stops in the future. It sounds like a project for the UWT Computer Science people.
One thing that I've noticed, and I know that this is an extremely new service for PT, but King Co. Metro has a link right on their website for their bus track system, and onebusaway. I can't find a link or even a mention of it on Pierce Transit's website. So if you're a transit geek/nerd - you would know about it, but the general public/tourist/out of towner has to look up the schedules the old school way. It would probably be a good idea to put a link on the PT website to let the casual transit user know about this service. It just might help boost ridership.
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