Photo by andertho

For years Metro has offered email and text message alerts for disruptions in rail service, and now it’s doing the same for buses. Reports the Post:

Metrobus users can sign up online to get service information on a maximum of four lines. It can be sent to their mobile devices, pagers or desktop computers. The alert system will operate between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m weekdays.

The transit authority says the new system is designed to compliment the information also available through Next Bus, the online or automated phone service that predicts the arrival times for buses at stops along their routes.

Unfortunately, the system isn’t yet intelligent enough to let you know if your chosen bus is full, if to expect 12 buses at once and none for the following 25 minutes and whether or not you might sit next to someone crazy.

Sign up here.