Students worried about missing the bus may get a little help from the computer science department in the near future.
The Student Government Association and computer science department are working on a GPS based Blacksburg Transit bus-tracking device to make transportation more efficient.
The program would connect the GPS devices to Twitter. A mobile version for cell phones and iPods would help students determine where the bus is and when it would arrive at the various stops.
The total estimated cost for the project is $34,800, including delivery costs to Web and mobile applications such as Twitter, iPhone, mobile and browser clients, and the work crew to install the GPS units.
The SGA is funding the project.
Project managers had to receive grants and look into all possible ways to make sure that the GPS systems would be a feasible solution for transportation problems at Virginia Tech.
Additionally, over the past two years, SGA president Brandon Carroll has been working closely with the computer science department, mainly Travis Webb, one of the directors of the project, to seek ways to make transportation on campus more reliable and efficient.
When Tech students were asked in an SGA survey last school year what change they wanted to see in the university, a majority had an answer related to transportation.
Carroll said many students’ main complaints were not parking, but rather transportation. He was inspired to install a GPS system in BT buses after hearing student comments.
“The university is not really addressing the transportation issue at Tech simply by building the parking garage,” he said. “There are two ways to approach the transportation problem at Tech: Either increase supply of parking, or decrease demand. One way to decrease demand is to make an alternative better.”
Carroll said he wants to transform the BT into “a reliable, viable option for students.”
Students who take the bus to go off campus or to the Math Emporium, such as freshman Kathleen Felter, would directly benefit from the addition of the GPS units.
“The bus systems have been unreliable,” Felter said. “They are inconvenient because they do not come at the scheduled time.”
Felter said she supported the proposed GPS system.
“Then I can see exactly where the buses are and (it) will always be reliable,” she said.
The project recently made progress as the Commission on Student Affairs supported the placement of the GPS systems on all of the BT buses.
The project will go forward through the summer. Carroll said it is his goal to have it completed and the GPS units installed by the fall semester.
“Making the Blacksburg Transit more reliable will help all students and faculty with their means of transportation,” he said.
Plans for the BT tracker can be accessed at www.bt-tracker.com, which provides a working model for the tracking program software.
A version of this article appeared in the Apr 28 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Although SGA is funding the project, this initiative has been going on 1 1/2 years at http://www.bt-tracker.com. The Computer Science class, led by Dr. Tilevich, have truly been the pioneers and architects behind this amazing initiative. I saw the opportunity to make this a reality, so I pushed for SGA to fund the project over the summer. The influx of parking next year is almost a false perception, because in the future, it will be a zero-sum gain. A way to decrease people driving in SOVs is to have this system ready by the fall. Now, it will happen - thanks to the CS dept and especially Travis Webb.
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The BT Tracker also won 1st place at this year's Virginia Tech Computer Science Research Symposium. Thanks, Brandon, for helping recognize the work done on this project.
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I love how the Collegiate Times still publishes "unbiased" articles in the community newspaper of Virginia Tech. "The bus systems have been unreliable, they are inconvenient because they do not come at the scheduled time." For starters, it is only one bus system called Blacksburg Transit, not Blacksburg Transits. Second, this sounds like the quoted, Ms. Felter, does not know how to read a bus schedule, because there are thousands of individuals who rely on this system to get them where they need to go on time each day. Maybe the writer of this article, Ms. Pasquariello, should have gotten a few more opinions from, lets say, the thousands of students who utilize Tom's Creek B every day.
The picture you have posted in the paper with the article mentions how Stephen Carey was just named the 3 millionth rider of Blacksburg Transit for this year. As for being "unbiased", why is there not an opinion from someone with this recognition contained within your article? So as you convey that Blacksburg Transit offers and unreliable service, I have to say they must be doing something right in order to carry more than 3 million people in less than 10 months.
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If Blacksburg Transit is so unreliable, maybe you should ride a transit system in DC, Philadelphia or Chicago and try to get somewhere on time. In these areas you can sit in congested traffic for hours on end, where the frequency of buses is every 30 minutes tops. So the next time you decide to complain that the bus is 5 minutes late or you just missed the bus and have to wait another 10 minutes for the next, think about these large metropolitan areas and realize what a great service you have.
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So basically to summarize your comment: "back in my day, we had to walk 15 miles to catch the bus, it only had 3 wheels, was always late, and we liked it! you college kids never had it so good with your 10 minute bus intervals!"
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The DMV also serves millions of customers; so this logically means that their service is impeccable, efficient, and always on-time? Your argument is nonsensical. The bus tracker is trying to help people catch the bus when it isn't on time, to inform them when the approaching bus is full before it gets there, etc.
also, picking on the fact that they said "systems" instead of "system" makes you look like a silly child.
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1. Honestly, this bt-tracker is adding reliability to an already pretty reliable service. It is a way to decrease the desire for students (and faculty) to drive to campus.
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the bt tracker is just going to make it even easier for people to wait until the absolute last minute to take the bus to class and then stand there bewildered as the full bus goes by. that is why i don't try to ride with the hordes of late students. also, i think the bt is doing a pretty good job considering the mess of pedestrians on the drill field between classes.
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The BT IS incredibly unreliable. I ride North Main and every day and Hethwood every week. I lost track of the times I was late to something important because the bus simply failed to show up.
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Journalistic integrity...saaaaaay whaaaaat?! Try doing some honest research instead of asking your "it's complicated" girlfriend/roomie/bar crawler troll what she thinks of the BT. Kinda like what that other person said about THOUSANDS of successful riders. Man....that girl quoted must feel kinda dumb if she can't figure out a bus systems (ahem....) that everyone else seems to have down.
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God forbid someone learn to read a map!
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