University of Wyoming to Enhance Shuttle Service with NextBus Technology

Filed Under AVL Systems, Feature Stories, Real-time Passenger Information Systems, Transportation Trends, University Transit

The Laramie campus of the University has run a shuttle service just since 2002 but it has become an increasingly popular alternative to automobiles for its student population.

Within just three years of its launch, the system had already carried its one millionth passenger. Annual ridership is currently 400,000.

A 2005 study showed that student usage had increased from 17 to 30% and that user satisfaction had gone up significantly. This suggests that the system is already well run and valued by the community.

Here’s what one student, Kendall Barking, had to say in a university press release:

“I ride the bus at least twice every day. It’s really helpful,” says the 2001 Sheridan High School graduate who transferred from Sheridan College to UW. “The first few days of classes I tried driving around campus looking for parking, but this is much better. There’s always space to park here and you are always guaranteed you’ll get to class on time.”

The press release also stated, “When UW classes are in session, ridership on the shuttle averages about 2,200 passengers per day, says Greg Jordan, Transportation and Parking Services (TransPark) manager. This equates to some 2,200 individuals per day who no longer drive around the perimeter of campus in search of a parking space in university lots or in adjacent neighborhoods.”

NextBus can make a good system even better for management and for students

Based on the NextBus experience within numerous successful university implementations, the university can expect to increase ridership even more significantly–and to make both student writers and transportation management much happier.

As with all universities that have yet to automate their transit systems, students must still rely on paper-based schedules. This makes it impossible to know for sure when the next bus will be arriving. It also means that students have to navigate lots of tabular data to determine bus arrival times. Moreover, they have to keep the schedule with them at all times if they want to be reminded of the timing of bus stops.

Once the NextBus system has been put in place, passengers will have a dramatically increased level of convenience when they can put themselves at the bus stop exactly in time for bus arrival.

The current system has 17 buses that run on five different routes. By implementing the new NextBus system, the University will be able to simplify management, while making it much more rider friendly.

The NextBus implementation is scheduled to roll out for the fall 2008 semester and will include the following components on all routes and all buses:

automatic vehicle location and mobile data terminals installed on all buses
real-time passenger information system components will include:
- SMS text messaging
- telephone interactive voice response with local number access
- the real-time NextBus passenger information website
- a special WAP enhanced website for PDA and cell phone users
- three ruggedized handset display LED signs
Easy to use management tools including:
- report generation
- real-time vehicle tracking
- a replay feature to track has to vehicle or route activity

Making University transit better all-around

The University of Wyoming can look forward to a much improved transit management system with even greater student participation, once they have implemented the NextBus real-time passenger information system.

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