University students who regularly debate whether taking the bus or walking to class is faster will no longer have to guess when making that decision, as new GPS-equipped bus-finder systems have been unveiled. The Charlottesville Transit Service officially launched its system yesterday, and the University Transit Service will similarly launch "HoosWhere" Wednesday.
According to the UTS Web site, riders will be able to access bus arrival information online, through newly installed bus finders at high-traffic bus stops, by using mobile devices and by calling an automated phone service.
Using the bus finder interface at bus stops, riders will be able to click a button to learn the estimated arrival time of the next bus, Parking and Transportation Director Rebecca White said.
Riders accessing the system by mobile device or phone will rely on the five digit number that corresponds to each bus stop. After placing a call and identifying the stop at which they are located, riders will be given the estimated arrival time for the next bus. The five-digit number is found on the backside of most UTS bus-stop signs, according to the UTS Web site.
Charlottesville Transit Service, meanwhile, launched a similar bus finder system at 25 of its bus stops yesterday, unveiling the system after installing and running the system for a week. The bus finders, which are encased in a red box, inform riders of the approximate amount of time until a bus will arrive at the stop, CTS spokesperson Tamika Harris said, adding that this information is also available in real-time on the CTS Web site.
CTS will wait to see how the current bus finders function before adding more, Harris said.
The new system comes at the same time as other changes to CTS' service, she added, citing yesterday's changes to six bus routes.
These route changes, according to Harris, affect routes 1B, 3A, 4A, 21, 22 and 23, all of which service the Belmont residential area.
Harris maintained that the changes were made to these routes because they previously circled the Downtown Mall twice and were thus inefficient. She noted that the route changes have been effective and well-received thus far.
"Some of those routes which have had difficulties in the past are running on time today," Harris said.
Except for night routes 21 and 22, which Harris said now "interlink" and stop at the University Hospital, the CTS changes do not affect any routes servicing Grounds.
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