Many people move to South Campus with the hopes of having
more independence, but often they do not take into account the commuting
situation from South to Main Campus. During the popular hours of class time in
the mornings and afternoons, buses are full to capacity with Syracuse
University students. An average bus ride to and from the two campuses is about
fifteen minutes, but if you miss the bus, it can be up to a forty-five minute
wait! To solve this problem I propose Syracuse University campus install global
position satellites (GPS) on their buses.
I would create an app that track where South Campus buses
are any given time; the app would be called South Campus Congestion. The app
will show users when buses have left specific locations, whether to expect
delays, and if they are running on time. Most importantly, students and
professors would be able to enter you schedule and the app would generate what
time they should take the bus to get them to campus on time. It would give you
two time options to take the bus, you input which one works best for you. Based
on the data you entered the app will alert you when the bus is five minutes
away from your location. When you get on the bus, you either select a green
check mark to indicate you have made it on or a red X that indicates you missed
it.
In order to register the app you would need a Syracuse
email, for your username, and a password—the app is strictly for the SU
population. If all South Campus residents to sign up and input there schedules
so the system can generate the best time for each student to take the bus. This
will help students get to class on time.
As for leaving College Place to return to South Campus, the
GPS would show where the buses are and how many are on their way to Main
Campus. The app would again show when the bus is at its capacity based on how
many people click the green check mark to show they are on the bus.
The goal of this app is to provide convenience for those
students that live on Farm Acre and get passed in the morning. The bus system
should be more convenient to students, but since more buses are not being added,
we can use technology to solve these issues.
The buses are definitely an issue. When the course gets to QR codes, there might be a way to integrate these codes into different bus stops. GPS would also be important. You want to make sure that there is some sort of incentive for the bus company. Your idea of seeing how congested the bus is really differentiates the idea.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!!! I especially like how it's customized around Syracuse, a lot of people don't consider the fact that the buses do get full, and the ability to predict that before you leave your apartment is ingenious. When I attended Stanford there was a similar application, which can be found at:
ReplyDeletehttp://transportation.stanford.edu/tappats/
What really makes your idea stand out is the ability to look at how full the buses are, theres nothing more frustrating than walking out of your warm apartment, and not being able to get onto a bus. This most impressive part of your idea are the details within the application, small things are what makes a consumer eager to use the application. This would also encourage more students to live on south campus because it makes the bus system a lot easier to endure.
I can definitely relate. Syracuse is very cold and waiting for a bus is not cool, so a GPS would really change everyones lives. I do like the idea of seeing if the buses are full in your app--because a lot of the bus drivers tend stop picking up passengers if they're filled.
ReplyDeleteThis would be very useful for students here at SU, but I think that it can be broadened to work with bus systems all over the nation. As well as with restaurants and other businesses so that people can go about their lives without wasting their time waiting on things.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate it if it is real since I also have trouble getting on bus on time. The time broadcasting system sucks. Sometimes it says there is still 15 minutes left for a bus to come, but after several minutes it says DUE. What is more, I cannot get the EXACT information of a coming bus, especially on weekends.
ReplyDeleteBut do you think it really should utilize GPS? I suggest the buses to be installed some kind of wireless device in effect of knowing its location. Or we can simply use Wi-Fi and attach it to Google Map?