• Home
• How NextBus Works
• News
• Contact us
• About Us
• Free Newsletter

Sign Up for NextBus News

Email Address ^*

 

Categories

• AVL Systems
• Best Practices
• Feature Stories
• Financing University Systems
• Government Funding
• Grey Island Systems
• Intelligent Transportation Systems
• Marketing Transit
• Municipal Transit
• NextBus, Inc.
• Paratransit
• Real-time Passenger Information Systems
• Research
• Success Stories
• Sustainability
• Transit Funding
• Transit Management Challenges
• Transit Trends
• Transportation Trends
• Uncategorized
• University Transit
• WebTech Wireless

Admin

• Log in
• Entries RSS
• Comments RSS
• WordPress.org

More than $12,000/year in San Francisco and $9,000 in Washington, DC

Public transportation riders can save on average $9,242 annually based on the January 11, 2010 national average gas price and the national unreserved monthly parking rate.  Of course, they also miss traffic jams—and when NextBus is available as in San Francisco and Washington, DC, they can travel quickly and reliably, too.

Compared to last year at this time, the average cost per gallon of gas was $1.79 which is nearly $1 less than the current price of gas at $2.75 per gallon.  This increase in cost equates to an additional $600 in savings per year for transit commuters as compared to last year’s savings amount at this same time.

“The Transit Savings Report” released monthly by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) calculates the average annual and monthly savings for public transit users.  The report examines how an individual in a two-person household can save money by taking public transportation and living with one less car.

Transit riders can save on average $770 per month.  The savings amount is based on the cost of the national averages for parking and driving, as well as the January 11 national average gas price of $2.75 per gallon for self-serve regular gasoline as reported by AAA.

Taking public transportation provides a safe and affordable way for individuals and families to cut costs, according to APTA.  In addition, local public transit offers a travel option that has an immediate positive impact in reducing an individual’s overall carbon footprint while helping reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

The national average for a monthly unreserved parking space in a downtown business district is $154.23, according to the 2009 Colliers International Parking Rate Study.  Over the course of a year, parking costs for a vehicle can amount to an average of $1,850.

The top 20 cities with the highest transit ridership are ranked in order of their transit savings based on the purchase of a monthly public transit pass and factoring in local gas prices for January 11, 2010 and the local monthly unreserved parking rate.*

 

Top Twenty Cities – Transit Savings Report

	City	Monthly Savings	Annual Savings
1	New York	$ 1,147	$ 13,765
2	Boston	$ 1,030	$ 12,362
3	San Francisco	$ 1,013	$ 12,156
4	Chicago	$  946	$ 11,357
5	Seattle	$ 932	$ 11,185
6	Philadelphia	$ 927	$ 11,121
7	Honolulu	$ 887	$ 10,639
8	Los Angeles	$ 838	$ 10,052
9	San Diego	$ 824	$ 9,894
10	Minneapolis	$ 824	$ 9,884
11	Cleveland	$ 803	$ 9,639
12	Portland	$ 798	$  9,581
13	Denver	$ 795	$ 9,539
14	Baltimore	$ 782	$ 9,383
15	Miami	$ 752	$ 9,022
16	Washington, DC	$ 751	$ 9,015
17	Dallas	$730	$ 8,756
18	Atlanta	$722	$ 8,658
19	Las Vegas	$716	$ 8,591
20	Pittsburgh	$ 680	$ 8,162

 *Based on gasoline prices as reported by AAA on 1/11/10.

Easy explanations of how to use NextBus for Efficient Public Transit Travel

The San Francisco Bay area boasts excellent public transit systems in the city itself and in surrounding counties. AC Transit is notable not only for a well-run system, but for its effectiveness in marketing the benefits of public transit to its passengers.

AC Transit is the third-largest bus-only transit system in California, serving over 400 square miles of the East Bay. For over forty years, AC Transit has been dedicated to providing quality mass transit. Every weekday, over 230,000 people ride their fleet of nearly 800 buses.  They run buses on 105 routes with more than 6500 stops.

They have committed to NextBus to improve bus travel for their millions of annual passengers.  To make the most of their NextBus implementation, they have recently added advertising to their bus shelters.  Now, even passersby get the message about how easy it is to use public transit and to stay on time.

Learn about More Examples of Effective Marketing from AC Transit

AC Transit has created ACT for Me as “Your Guide to the Future of Public Transit.”  They illustrate why AC Transit should be an integral part of your life by sharing a creative range of content—from user-generated videos, to a savings calculator, to a discussion of community and environment benefits, and the exciting future of transit. Click here to read more about ACTforMe.org

35% Growth Includes 7 New Municipal and 15 University Systems

Real-time passenger information systems pioneer strengthens its leadership role in the United States and Canada.  Millions of passengers,  thousands of buses, and hundreds of new routes now benefit from NextBus technology.  Total installations approach 65 with more on the way.

Here is the list of 22 new NextBus installations

California-Northern	Unitrans ASUCD/City of Davis
California-Southern	UCLA
District of Columbia	WMATA Washington
Florida	Nova Southeastern University
Maryland	Charm City Circulator
Maryland	Towson University
Maryland	University of Maryland
Maryland	University of Baltimore
Massachusetts	MBTA
New Jersey	New Jersey Transit
New Jersey	Rutgers Univ. Newark College Town Shuttle
North Carolina	East Carolina University
North Carolina	University of North Carolina
Ontario	Niagara Falls Transit
Ontario	Toronto Transit Commission
Pennsylvania	Allegheny College
Pennsylvania	Slippery Rock University
Quebec	Societe de transport de Laval
Texas	University of Houston
Texas	Texas State University

Welland to Install Real-time Passenger Info and Stop Annunciation System on 15 Buses

NextBus^® will soon be helping bus passengers in the city of Welland, Ontario thanks to a contract won by its parent company, WebTech Wireless.  The NextBus^® real-time passenger information solution including the first sale of the NextBus^® Stop Annunciation System, which provides riders with visual and audio information on the bus’ route and next stop.

The contract includes an initial installation of the system on 15 buses and represents an approximate value of CDN $140,000. The City of Welland, located in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, has a population of 50,000 and currently operates buses on 14 routes.

Owen Moore, COO at WebTech Wireless said, "NextBus^® is also proving to be highly adaptable to customer needs, and we’re very pleased that when Welland Transit needed a very cost-effective bus stop announcement system, they chose our NextBus^® suite over that of competitors."

Commenting on the sales, Scott Edmonds, WebTech Wireless’ President and CEO said, "We’re seeing that activity in the government sector for our InterFleet^® and NextBus^® solutions is strong and growing as more and larger government agencies are becoming aware of the technological superiority and potential for customization that our products provide. I’m very pleased with the work of our InterFleet ^®and NextBus^® teams as they continue to outpace our competitors in pursuit of rewarding contracts such as these and others on the horizon."

Real-time Passenger Information from NextBus Provides the Key

Chicago typifies what’s happening to municipal transit systems across the country. Cities large and small must endure drastically reduced budgets that reflect widespread tax and revenue shortfalls. Even though ridership has been increasing, the tax revenue that is also vital to supporting those transit operations has fallen dramatically as unemployment has risen in United States.  Thus, Chicago’s CTA was forced to slash costs in ways that are affecting their riders at the coldest time of the year.

The CTA cuts were implemented February 2010 on 119 bus routes and seven rail lines. In addition, 41 bus routes have reduced hours of service, and nine express bus routes have been cut. CTA President Richard Rodriguez indicated that more than 1,000 employees have also been laid off.

How Real-time Passenger Information System Benefits Can Balance the Effect of Budget Reductions

1. Maximize system efficiency to get the most of available people and capital assets. A myriad of problems confront transit executives as they work to achieve on-time results both consistently and cost effectively. Intelligent transportation technologies from NextBus empower executives by showing them what is working well and what is working poorly for every vehicle and every route. In addition,
   easy to generate reports point the way to facilitating changes that improve on-time performance on all routes.
2. Make system wide scheduling highly predictable to benefit both managers and riders. An efficient transit system requires a high degree of predictability. It is extremely difficult to provide that predictability without AVL
   & APC systems that provide continuous updates—and takes into consideration random factors such as vehicle breakdowns, traffic jams, and unexpected emergencies. NextBus was designed from the ground up to provide accurate arrival times across a variety of routes.
3. Put accurate ridership and other operations performance data to get the most from every bus and every route. Optimal transit efficiency depends not only on getting buses and trains to each stop in time, but also on the balancing of passenger loads to prevent both overcrowding and empty vehicles. Our passenger counting capabilities smooth passenger demand spikes throughout the day and reduce demand for additional vehicles during peak periods.
4. Balance the high cost of fuel by minimizing mileage.  Real-time passenger information enables managers to minimize the use of expensive fuel without compromising service levels. They can improve efficiencies by making a broad range of operational changes from major to minor. Thus, you can serve more passengers and more routes while keeping bus mileage to a minimum.

As our nation’s capital and much of the East Coast prepares to be blasted by yet another storm, WMATA passengers will be able to minimize the time they spend freezing outdoors thanks for the NextBus real-time passenger information system.

Before the DC area’s WMATA agency implemented the NextBus solution, passengers were forced to rely on static schedules that did not reflect the kind of havoc a winter storm can bring. Although there are printed schedule might have shown that the bus would arrive at 10 AM, the effect of blizzard conditions would be felt all day long–and certainly disrupt normal arrival times.  Even in normal conditions, buses often arrive somewhat early or late, but severe weather circumstances can create drastic delays that would leave uninformed writers stuck in frosty conditions for an uncomfortable length of time.

Because NextBus predictions are continually adjusted based on actual conditions, riders need suffer interminable waits at bus stops for snow delayed buses. Instead, they can access real-time data on their PC, on their smart phone or even by dialing in on a regular phone to get the most current arrival information.

Passengers can also watch bus progress in real-time on the NextBus Live Map or Google Maps for a further reality check.

Thanks to NextBus, riders DC area riders can stay warm even in the worst of winter storms.

The Happy Bus System Will Now Make Riders Even Happier By Getting Them Where They Want to Go On-Time

Faculty and staff, as well as Slippery Rock University students, are now just one phone call away from tracking the arrival of the next bus. The Student Government Association(SGA) recently installed the GPS-based NextBus passenger information system on the campus buses it operates to help SRU become more environmentally friendly while providing up-to-date bus stop information.

The SGA Shuttle made its debut route around the campus loop in January of 1994. The Shuttle, or the "Happy Bus" as it’s affectionately known to many students, has been a Slippery Rock icon ever since.

The Shuttle takes trips to various regional shopping centers throughout the year.  In August of 2008, a second Shuttle was added and new routes were created to get students where they need to be.

The nine-stop, on-campus 20-minute route runs 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays; the 12-stop, off-campus 30-minute loop runs 7:20 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. The evening route runs 4:30-9 p.m., and the late-night bus, operated Thursday through Saturday, runs 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Passengers can now access information about the popular “Happy Bus” schedules either by a dedicated phone line or by selecting “Slippery Rock University” on the NextBus.com website. The system tracks both the on-campus bus and its off-campus cousin that travels to area apartment complexes and stores.

Improving Sustainability with Leading Edge Technology

Tyson Johnston, SGA vice president for public relations, said the idea for the bus schedule computer systems was submitted by SGA to the Green Fund last spring.

“We applied for a Green Fund Grant for $20,000 to help pay for the system, and were selected to receive funding,” Johnston said.

The new systems cost $40,000 with SGA funds covering the remaining half.

“They can hop on a nice warm bus and come to campus,” Johnston said. In addition to saving time, riding the bus will also help faculty and staff save money on gasoline.

Johnston said the system also allows the SGA to count the number of passengers on the buses at any given time as well as track at which stops passengers are getting off.

“Those reports are helpful because it lets us know which stops are being used, which aren’t, and it allows us to make our schedule better,” Johnston said.

One commenter to a NextBus article in the student news site,TheOnlineRocket.com indicated how useful the new system can be:

You can use your Smartphone to get the arrivals information, you can use SMS Texting, you can set alarms that tell you when the bus is coming a set number of minutes before it is predicted to arrive, i.e. send an alert 12 minutes before the bus is predicted in real time to arrive at my stop every weekday morning.

NextBus Info Simplifies System Management

Reporting tools enable efficient operation of the shuttle system. For example, SGA’s Johnston noted that the system also allows the SGA to count the number of passengers on the buses at any given time as well as track at which stops passengers are getting off.

“Those reports are helpful because it lets us know which stops are being used, which aren’t, and it allows us to make our schedule better,” Johnston said.

All in all, the NextBus system will improve transportation life for both riders and managers.

Bus Information Anywhere Proves Life Changing for DC Area Bus Commuter

In the 3 months since its official launch in the Washington DC metro, the NextBus real-time passenger information solution has proved invaluable for 1000s of busy commuters who have to negotiate the complex local transit system.

Blogger, Eyder Peralta, is an NPR associate producer on social media and has grown to love the NextBus service and the related iPhone application. As he writes in a recent post, Practical Technology Can Be Sexy:

Having used it for more than a month, I haven’t waited for a bus more than three minutes.

It has literally changed my life. It means an extra 10 minutes playing with my baby in the morning. It means finishing off my cup of coffee, when in the past I’d drop it off in the sink completely full. It means that I don’t have to curse under my breath when a bus — 30 minutes delayed — finally arrives with three others right behind it. It means I don’t have to agonize about whether I just missed a bus by a minute so I’m stuck.

Eyder is particularly fond of a DC-specific iPhone application, NextBusDC that provides a rich variety of functions:

• The ability to find nearby bus stops instantly
• Bookmarking of favorite stops and routes for convenience
• Interactive route maps, zoom and click on a stop for bus times
• Supports arrival predictions for WMATA buses

Eyder concludes, “Most technology now is about coolness; it’s about ways to entertain your eyes and ears and hardly ever about the simple, practical things in life. But what something like NextBus taught me is that practical tech is the sexiest tech.”

There’s nothing better than technology that makes daily life easier.  At NextBus, that’s our objective: To make life easier for transit execs and riders alike. It sure looks like we’ve achieved our objective for Eyder Peralta.

Use a Real-Time Reporting System That’s Available on the Web 24/7

So many vehicles. So many routes. So many riders. So many variables. Running a modern transit system presents daunting challenges for the very best transportation executives.

Having the right reporting tools in place make a dramatic difference in your team’s ability to operate your system at peak efficiency in spite of the many variables your system faces day in and day out.

The Right Reports Simplify Transit Operations in Even the Largest and most Complicated Systems.

NextBus management reports provide transit executives and supervisors a set of powerful tools to manage their fleet. With these tools, managers get reports on the activities and performance of a single vehicle or route or multiple vehicles and routes selected by the manager. All are easily accessible over the Internet.

The reports are simple to use and provide essential management information, including details on vehicle headways and timepoint schedule adherence.

Management reports are essential for understanding where, why, and how problems are occurring in the system. This knowledge gives dispatchers and supervisors insight into ways to better distribute their resources and results in smoother system operations.

NextBus management reports are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing up-to-the-minute information. Data is stored indefinitely so that valuable reports comparing current and archived data can be created and analyzed.

NextBus standard reports cover most of the information required for managing headway and schedule adherence, from a list of vehicles running and job scheduling, to more complex reports covering details of individual vehicle runs timepoint adherence, and others.

Standard NextBus management reports will enable you to improve:

• Schedule adherence
• Headway management
• Missed blocks
• Vehicle reporting
• Bus operator performance

Performance measurement becomes an easier task with the right set of tools. NextBus management reports provide information you need to optimize your transit operations.

These days, with severely strained resources, those management tools are more important than ever.

Investment in Real-time Passenger Information Systems Can Maintain Service Quality

2009 has seen dramatic cuts in funding for public transit systems across the United States. This comes at a time when Americans are opting increasingly for public transit as a sustainable and affordable alternative to private automobiles.  Fortunately, NextBus can provide affordable solutions that deliver tangible operational benefits in these challenging times.

As Transportation for America recently described the dramatic increase in demand:

Americans took nearly 10.7 billion trips on public transportation in 2008, a four percent increase over 2007 and the highest level since 1956, according to the American Public Transportation Association. Public transportation use has increased 38 percent since 1995 — nearly triple the growth rate of the population of the United States. Contrast this with a 3.6 percent drop in vehicle-miles traveled in 2008 according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Public transportation advocates like Transportation for America work to persuade Congress of the need for adequate, predictable funding. Director, James Corless emphasized: “As employers and commuters everywhere know only too well, public transportation is an essential service that is critical to our economy.”

And, yet, cost cuts are making it difficult to meet this increased demand with existing processes and technology.

Affordable Options from NextBus to Maximize Operational Efficiencies in Spite of Cost Cuts

Because the realities of strained resources that face public transit executives will like persist for the medium term, they can mitigate the negative effects by implementing advanced passenger information technologies.

1. Run an efficient, on-time system. A myriad of problems confront transit executives as they work to achieve on-time results both consistently and cost effectively. Intelligent transportation technologies from NextBus empower executives by showing them what is working well and what is working poorly for every vehicle and every route. In addition,
   easy to generate reports point the way to facilitating changes that improve on-time performance on all routes.
2. Provide a highly predictable route system. An efficient transit system requires a high degree of predictability. It is extremely difficult to provide that predictability without AVL
   & APC systems that provide continuous updates—and takes into consideration random factors such as vehicle breakdowns, traffic jams, and unexpected emergencies. NextBus was designed from the ground up to provide accurate arrival times across a variety of routes.
3. Gather highly accurate ridership and other operations performance data. Optimal transit efficiency depends not only on getting buses and trains to each stop in time, but also on the balancing of passenger loads to prevent both overcrowding and empty vehicles. Our passenger counting capabilities smooth passenger demand spikes throughout the day and reduce demand for additional vehicles during peak periods.
4. Cope with high cost of fuel. Realtime passenger information enables you to minimize the
   use of expensive fuel without compromising service levels. You can make a broad range of operational changes from major to minor, all of which improve efficiencies. Thus, you can serve more passengers and more routes without needing to add more buses.

Effective Use of  NextBus Technology Can Overcome Cost and Passenger Pressure in Major Transit Systems.

The financial challenges that face our municipalities are unlikely to disappear anytime soon. Nor is the increased use of public transportation.

NextBus real-time passenger information systems are enabling more than 65 municipal, university, and corporate transit systems to operate at peak efficiency in spite of tough financial and rider pressure.

Next Page →