Here Comes the Bus!

One of the most frustrating experiences of using mass transit to get to work or school is the countless minutes and hours wasted waiting for the bus to arrive. Business people in cities and children on rural roads patiently stand in discomfort in the extreme conditions of the seasons while waiting for their buses. A new GPS tracking innovation might be the solution needed to finally end this problem.

Buses in Steamboat Springs

A city in Colorado, Steamboat Springs, has developed a solution. The problem is especially acute in an area that has recorded snowfall in ten months out of the year on average over the past thirty years. They are installing GPS tracking systems on their city buses. The benefit of this service will be to allow bus riders to check their smartphones to see exactly where the nearest bus is.

Related Innovations

In addition to adding the GPS tracking systems to the buses, Steamboat Springs will also be using new hybrid buses to reduce fuel and maintenance costs, as well as using infrared passenger counters to help dispatch staff know if they will need to add more buses to the route. All of this information will be available through a smartphone app that will let you know where your bus is through GPS tracking.

Other Uses

The further applications and uses of GPS tracking on buses don’t end with public mass transit. Imagine the use of GPS tracking for school buses. Parents will no longer need to make their children stand outside in the elements for a long time waiting for the school bus. Students can decide if they need to run fast to catch the bus, or if they can take their time in walking to the bus stop. School administrators can keep tabs on where buses are going and check their progress with the click of a button. Parents will be able to enjoy more peace of mind knowing that the bus got to school on time.

The use of GPS technology devices on buses is just the next logical step to use this technology in a way that will help people. Children of the future will wonder how we ever got by without knowing just when the bus would arrive!

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Here Comes the Bus!