Assignment 2: Preventing 'Bus Bunching' with Smart Phone Application Implementation - Revised

In the article “Preventing ‘Bus Bunching’ with Smart Phone Application Implementation”, Sprogis (n.d.) claims that implementing a smartphone application for bus drivers will help shorten waiting times and prevent overcrowding. Sprogis analyses the data of bus crowds using AnyLogic's GIS features to create a solution called "Equilibrium" based on the distance between buses. By doing so buses will make refined adjustments to the route by altering its speed and maintaining the ideal headway. Sprogis (n.d.) believes that this helps to make the number of riders in each bus more consistent and develop more predictable waiting times, eventually “eliminating excessively long waiting times and dampens overcrowding of buses”. While I support the idea of tackling issues on bus bunching using smartphones, other technological applications have also successfully resolved bus bunching.

Firstly, the usage of a smartphone application to tackle bus bunching has been successfully tested. In a Coach & Bus Week magazine article “Bus Bunching prevention technology successfully trialed in Washington DC”, the author (2015) mentions smartphones installed in buses that update at a constant time interval and alerts drivers immediately to slow down or speed up. Shashkin, a technical partner at EastBanc Technologies shares that the application will “transmit a positioning signal every three seconds from every bus through EastBanc’s TransitIQ system” then alert drivers if the headway is too far or near. Since it utilizes smartphones which are widely available and easily accessed, it is practical and advantageous to use the existing technologies in smartphones. In this case, EastBanc uses the cloud functions in smartphones to store its bus location data and share it with the public. This idea is great as its data is accessible and its fast and frequent location updates makes it more accurate for both drivers and riders. 

Secondly, the application of technology for tablets called "BusGenius" to improve bus bunching in college buses. In a Northern Arizona University (NAU) news article “NAU’s new bus system makes for shorter waiting times for riders”, Jarrette (2019) mentions a new system that computes the ideal layover time at each stop for drivers to reposition and prevent bunching. It creates several intervals along the route and computes the ideal, short delay required to evenly space the buses. The delay time is then transmitted to the bus and “displayed as a countdown on a tablet” for drivers and riders to gauge when the bus is departing. The layover points are also catered to student’s needs, stopping for longer times at transit points like parking lots or student unions. It is interesting how this idea helps shorten headways, create more frequent buses and takes more consideration of its students, improving ridership experience while preventing bunching. 

Lastly, the utilization of a two-way bus communication system has been successfully trialed. Vance (2015) mentions that the system is created by pairing an existing bus tracker at the control center with new software. The software alerts when buses don't maintain the ideal headway and create a solution to close the gap. The supervisor then informs drivers to adjust their speed through text from a device installed on the bus windshield. Although the system successfully uses technology to gauge and create a solution to maintain the ideal headways of buses. It is unreliable as the supervisor has to be constantly present to check for alerts from the system. It is also unsafe as the drivers will get distracted from checking new messages while driving on the road. 

In conclusion, the idea of using a smartphone application to prevent bus bunching is highly achievable. I believe that the other articles will help improve the reader's understanding of other technologies that have successfully countered bus bunching. 

Reference

Bus bunching prevention technology successfully trialed in Washington DC. (2015, September 28). Coach & Bus Week. https://cbwmagazine.com/bus-bunching-prevention-technology-successfully-trialled-in-washington-dc/

Jarette, C. (2019, June 27). NAU's new bus system makes for shorter wait times for riders. NAU News. https://news.nau.edu/nau-bus-schedules/#.X36jrGgvM2w

Sprogis, D. (n.d.). Preventing 'Bus Bunching' with Smart Phone Application Implementation. Analogic.  https://www.anylogic.com/preventing-bus-bunching-with-smart-phone-application-implementation/ 

Vance, S. (2015, May 14). Here's How New CTA Technology Helps Reduce Bus Bunching. Streetsblog Chicago. https://chi.streetsblog.org/2015/05/14/heres-how-new-cta-technology-helps-reduce-bus-bunching/