San Antonio hopes Wi-Fi lures bus riders City launches pilot program By JOSH BAUGH SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Nov. 1, 2009, 10:00PM http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6698077.html San Antonio is trying to lure riders to public transit by offering riders free Wi-Fi. A month-long pilot program being launched today will give access to riders on some VIA Metropolitan Transit express routes. “What we're trying to figure out with the pilot program is how much interest there is out there,” VIA President Keith Parker said. “We think there may be a considerable amount. And if there is, we plan to roll it out on a much larger level.” Next year, VIA will be adding hybrid-electric, full-electric and compressed natural gas buses to its fleet, Parker said, and Wi-Fi technology could be added to them. “Before we make the investment (in the Wi-Fi technology), we want to make sure customers would use it,” he said. Targeting ‘choice riders' For the pilot program, VIA is using a device called a “MiFi,” a small wireless device that provides Internet service to up to five devices at a time. The agency has equipped two buses with the equipment. Outfitting buses with wireless Internet is just one way VIA is trying to reach out to a more diverse group of riders, namely “choice riders,” those who aren't dependent on the bus system. The agency is also working on an iPhone application that would give riders real-time bus information and trip-planning capability. Also, Google Maps now offers trip planning through information it receives from VIA. Officials with Houston's Metro haven't publicly discussed adding Wi-Fi to buses here. Austin had success In Austin, Capital Metro added free Wi-Fi to some buses in January 2007, spokeswoman Misty Whited said. The program later became permanent and will be available on Capital Metro's rail line when it starts running, possibly early next year. Some 50 vehicles are fitted with free wireless Internet service, said Kirk Talbott, Capital Metro's chief information officer. Talbott said that on average, about six customers log on in each bus, though the capacity is much larger. “Now that we're seeing more mobile devices, like cell phones that can take advantage of Wi-Fi, we expect that there will be more usage that way,” he said. “But it's kind of a horse race in the sense that as technology advances, mobile technology is getting faster, too. You come to a point where you're faster doing it individually than doing it on a shared system.” -- ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 Mail: antunes at uh dot edu *********************************** * POST TO [email protected] * *********************************** Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
