The other morning I was stuck in snow and wind for thirty
minutes as a small crowd of us waited for a late bus. Yuck: why not stick GPS on the bus and pump data to a web site so cell phones, wireless laptops, and
other devices could tell where the bus was?
As I live only two minutes away, if I knew where the bus was I should be able to walk to the stop and
never wait more than a few minutes. Nice idea.
As I suspected, this is more than an idea and is starting to
be a big deal. A Seattle
system was getting 2.4 million hits per month back in 2001: Now they're putting
up electronic signs with arrival times. See: http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=5458&issue=8:2001
How many extra rides per year might it take to
pay for the systems upgrade (for Seattle the entire
signaling system costs about as much as it costs to run a single bus)? And what
environmental and energy benefit would society gain for rides switched from
cars to buses? I'm not sure, but I'd be interested in finding out.
Then I was pointed to the Traveline.org site in the UK:
http://www.traveline.org.uk
This service offers multi-modal trip planners integrating all
types of public transport: buses, the underground, trains, ferries (and even
walking, showing whether you need to go up or down steps or if escalators are
available). Tell it where you want to go and when you want to start and it will
offer optional routes including transfer times and directions, total time for
the trip, and pricing (when available).
The idea is to reduce uncertainty, perhaps especially for
trips that haven't been taken before. This should reduce at least somewhat a barrier that
keeps people away from public transit.
To give you a taste of what's available in the UK
(Seattle
is working on multi-modal also), here's a notional trip I planned from the Maharaja
Tandoori Restaurant in Piccadilly
Square to Oxford (I understand there's
a university there): http://www.3ecompass.net/content/Journey_Planner_route_details.pdf
Building and operating such a cross-boundary service is probably
easier in a society like the UK
with its heavy reliance on public transport and a unified
government able to pull the institutional stakeholders together.
Still, it looks like an interesting XB example to me. Anyone
know how it was financed?
I'll try to find out and report it back at our March
workshop on financing cross-boundary innovations. Come join us to work these
issues: http://www.3ecompass.net/public/governance_and_finance/
As they say in the UK:
Cheers,
Jerry
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