DCist Beta Test: Metro's NextBus
In the caveman days of our youth, waiting for the bus was a simple exercise in patience. Stand there long enough and it would come...usually. However, in our current world of streaming, real time, to-the-minute, live updates, the wait has become as infuriating as a dial-up internet connection. Metro is working to ease our transit ADD, however, with a new system that provides live updates to riders via web-enabled cell phones or other handheld devices like Treos or BlackBerrys, or of course, your computer. The system is currently available system-wide on Metrorail, and on seven pilot Metrobus routes throughout D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.
After the jump, we give the system a test run. We are interested in your experiences too, so be sure to leave a comment with your cheers or jeers!
Screenshot taken from NextBus's web site
While information is now provided about both train and bus arrival times, the systems are a little different. On Metrorail, WMATA has basically given riders access to the same information posted on the LED displays that hang over platforms. To access train information on a handheld device, go to http://wmata.com/mobile and select "Next train information." Pretty straightforward.
With no similar tracking system already in place, figuring out Metrobuses was a little more difficult. Metro has been installing GPS tracking devices on its entire bus fleet for more than a year. With that project near completion, Metro uses computer modeling to track buses on their routes. The system considers the actual position of a bus, its intended stops, and typical traffic patterns along the route to estimate arrivals. This estimate is updated constantly as new information comes in. For information about bus arrivals, the site is http://wmata.nextbus.com/wmata for both handhelds and computers. You can even get a live map of where each bus along the route is actually located. The system is currently up and running on the 90, 92 and 93 in the District, Virginia's 9A and 9E routes, and Maryland's F4 and F6. The plan is to continue to roll out new routes in the coming months, though there is no timetable.
We took the system for a test run this weekend and found it to work fairly well. A quick check of the WMATA web site let us know that we did not have to rush out the door and double-time it to the nearest Green Line stop, since we would miss the next train no matter what. When we did get to the station, the train arrived right about when we were told it would.
We had similar luck with the 92 bus on U Street. Our handheld prediction for the bus' arrival was correct to within a few minutes (though nowhere near the arrival time posted on the paper schedule at the stop). However, had we not been able to borrow a friend's Treo, it would not have been so easy. We called the NextBus phone number posted at bus stops, which is supposed to guide you to your bus' arrival time. Unfortunately, we could not get the pleasant computerized voice on the other end of the line to find our bus. At that point, we were transferred to Metro's customer service center, which offered to provide us with the same arrival time posted on the paper schedule. Not helpful.
Our only other complaint is the separate online sites for bus and train information via handheld. But perhaps as Metro brings other routes online and works out the kinks in the program, they will consolidate all the information onto one site.