212771 external_news 1368526299 1475893587 Given metro Atlanta’s transportation mess, it’s refreshing to find progressive thinkers who are looking to improve things within the existing infrastructure, at little cost to anyone. Kari Watkins is an engineering professor at Georgia Tech who, while at the University of Washington, co-developed a computer application for Seattle transit called OneBusAway. The app taps into vehicles’ GPS and provides real-time arrival information on users’ computers and mobile phones. This allows riders to limit their wait times at bus stops and train stations. Watkins and her Tech students are now working with MARTA to develop similar technology here. (The coding for OneBusAway was also used to create MTA Bus Time in New York.) In Seattle, project research for OneBusAway, available at www.onebusaway.org, turned up some interesting findings: • Surveys show that people perceive they are waiting much longer for transit than they actually are — some research suggests up to twice as long — but Watkins found that with real-time information, there is no longer a difference between perception and reality. Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Opinion)

 

]]> 2013-05-14 1299