Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Centro is taking steps to make using public transportation in Central New York a little easier. The bus service is rolling out a program that uses GPS to tell riders the exact arrival time of the next ride.
The program is currently only being used on a limited basis, but Centro may take it system wide if the test phase is completed without a problem.
The alert system offers riders up to the minute information as GPS units on the buses feed into a program to keep routes running on time. The system is being used for a limited run along the Connective Corridor for now. Along with the stops, 20 buses will also have the video and audio displays to let riders know of upcoming stops.
"I think when I listen to students who are on the bus a lot of what I hear is they don't know when the bus is coming and that's a big barrier in a lot of folks accessing the bus, so I think we remove that barrier, they can see it they know when it's coming," said Connective Corridor Director Robbi Farschman.
In a few weeks, when the website is ready, they'll be able to track their bus online and receive text and email messages about it's arrival.
"So if you're in your dorm room or if you're in the library or at the warehouse downtown it will send you a text message saying your bus is 5 minutes away so you can better plan your time," said Steve Koegel of Centro.
Eventually Centro will have about 12 of the message boards up along the corridor.
"It allows a rider to be at a bus stop and know exactly when their bus is going to arrive, it takes away a lot of the guesswork and some of the anxiety some people have riding the bus," Koegel said.
Centro will use the next 18 months to evaluate the system examining things like accuracy of arrival times, and finding things that need to be tweaked. The service administrators will then determine whether or not the system can be adopted the entire fleet.
90 percent of the $2.8 million for the program comes from a federal grant. The rest is split evenly between Syracuse University and the State Department of Transportation.
