BusFinder is BETA and BETTER

By Laurel McJannet

As of Noon today, our website looks different-- and that's by design.

BusFinder BETA is now live on communitytransit.org

Community Transit's web app, BusFinder, was introduced in the spring of 2014. It was the agency’s first app, allowing customers to access real-time information to help plan trips and locate our buses

Since then, technology on our buses has improved and the data provided is more accurate. Our customers have asked for (and need) better web experiences, visually and functionally, to get from where they are to where they want to be.

With all this in mind, we've rebuilt BusFinder from the ground up and now everyone can give it a test drive on communitytransit.org.

The BETA testing period kicks off today, Thursday February 20 and will last 4-6 weeks to gather feedback and identify bugs. We invite you to put BusFinder BETA through its paces and tell us what you think!

There are a total of 25 enhancements made to BusFinder and you can read all about them (and check out the FAQs) at communitytransit.org/busfinderbeta.

The video snippet below shows how some key enhancements look on BusFinder BETA (Note: the video has been sped up for this example-- buses will not be blinking on the map!)

• Buses on the map indicate that the bus is transmitting "live," real-time data.

• Data refreshes every 30 seconds, resulting in the buses moving on the map.

• Your current location is shown as the shaded circle (as long as your location services activated on your device.)

• Buses showing real-time data have a green "LIVE" icon in its route listing. To see the route from end-to-end with more information, just click on the ">".

We are very excited about this new BusFinder BETA and hope it brings useful, easy to understand, timely information to help make your bus ride better. 

So, what do you think? Will you try BusFinder BETA? How does it compare with other transit apps? Tell us in the comments!

Rider Alerts Get Real-Time: New system gets timely info in riders' hands

By Martin Munguia, Corporate Communications Manager

Community Transit riders noticed a new look to their rider alerts today. The agency has launched a new partially automated alert system that provides riders with information on delays and other service impacts in real time, during all hours of service.

Riders can view/receive alerts about bus service impacts
in real time, during all hours of service. 

The result will be more alerts providing more information about what is going on with your bus while it is in service. This can help you make better choices about your daily commute.

The new real-time alerts report trip delays of 10 minutes or more, as well as canceled trips, reroutes that miss certain bus stops, and other issues that are impacting buses on the road, or scheduled to be on the road.

Once created, alerts are simultaneously posted on the agency’s website, Twitter page, and sent to subscribers via email or SMS text, as well as provided to third-party apps such as Google Maps or OneBusAway. While alerts are sent to those apps, it is up to developers whether to display them or not.

What’s the difference?

The new alert system is a huge improvement over the old system due to the process. Rather than using administrative staff to create alerts based on information sent out from the agency’s two dispatch bases, the new bus alerts are created directly by dispatchers. As soon as they get information from the field, dispatchers use a new tool to select from several drop-down menus to generate an alert.

This literally cuts out the middle person. It also means real-time alerts look a bit different than the old alerts.

They start with the route number and time the bus leaves the first stop so riders can easily tell if it is their trip. The alerts then identify the direction of the trip by destination, and the reason for the delay or cancelation. These alerts are produced any time a bus is impacted, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Alerts about future impacts due to planned construction, parades or holidays will continue to be produced by staff, as they may require more complex explanations or images. On Community Transit’s Rider Alerts webpage, www.communitytransit.org/Alerts, the two alert types are called Real-Time Alerts and Rider Information.

How to get alerts

If you already get Community Transit’s electronic rider alerts, you don’t have to do anything to get the real-time alerts. If you don’t, here are three ways to get them:

• Email/text – Sign up for alerts to be sent by email or SMS text. Visit www.communitytransit.org/Subscribe to select the routes you ride most frequently. Whenever an alert affecting that route is sent, you will get a notification. Because more alerts are being sent out in this new system, choose your route preferences carefully. If you already subscribe, you may want to adjust your preferences to avoid getting too many alerts.
• Twitter – Follow Community Transit’s new service alert Twitter handle,

  

  Follow @MyCommTransBus on Twitter for rider alerts posted
  real-time alerts throughout our operating hours.

  @MyCommTransBus. All alerts for all routes are sent to this Twitter feed. If you see an alert announcing service delays on your route, scroll up the feed to see if that delay has ended.
• Website – Visit www.communitytransit.org/Alerts to view all active alerts. If a bus trip is delayed more than 10 minutes or canceled, an alert will be generated. That alert will be removed once that trip has ended. A button for rider information alerts lists all constructed- or holiday-related impacts to service that are planned in advance. These alerts include reroutes or closed stops, whether short-term or long-term.

Questions about bus service may still be answered by calling (425) 353-7433 or emailing riders@commtrans.org.

Real-time alerts are reported for all Community Transit bus routes and the six Sound Transit bus routes operated by Community Transit – ST Routes 510, 511, 512, 513, 532 and 535.