Originally Posted by
Smallwheels
Twenty years ago I wished I could dial a telephone number and enter the location of my bus stop, then hear an automated recording with an estimate of how much time it would be before the next bus arrived at that stop. I think the technology is here today that could help me with that. Having such an application with a road map showing where the buses were located and the estimated time to each stop would be awesome. People wouldn't need to wait outside in bad weather for half an hour wondering if they just missed the last one or if they were very early for the next one. People could just time their walk to the stop and know exactly how soon they must leave to get to the stop on time. Global Positioning Satellites are great tools.
An additional tool that would enhance bus trip estimates would be having a call button at each bus stop. It would be like an elevator button. It would alert the bus driver and the electronic system when a stop would be needed. Calculations could be made in real time about how long a trip would take to reach your destination. Having the ability to remotely tell a driver you want him to stop somewhere would be convenient, but it would slow the system down plenty if the driver were required to wait for someone who didn't get there in time. I would prefer having the call button at the stop.
What really makes bus transport less efficient are having bus stops at each or every other corner and no pre-paid fares. In other words, if you had limited number of stops like lightrail or commuter rail with real bus stops with wide protective shelters, people would ride more because the bus would move much faster than bicycle speed.
What I like so much about lightrail is the prepaid fare where everyone pays before entering the train. Therefore, you don't have to wait 5 minutes while a line of people are trying to put in crumpled dollar bills into the fare box! Everyone boards all at once from the front and back doors! They are experimenting this prepaid fare option for buses in the Bronx with very good results. It does require to have fare officers to board the bus from time to time and check people who didn't pay but this is a slight penalty for increased speed.