Commuters in San Francisco will soon be able to surf the web while riding the bus. The city’s Muni bus system has partnered with Cisco Systems to launch an effort they call “the Connected Bus,” which gives passengers free wireless access while onboard. Buses will also offer touch-screen schedules and maps for tourists and other travelers.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the new bus:

The bus, part of Muni's hybrid electric bus fleet, is painted green and black with a picture of Mother Earth and an electronic display panel boasting "270 tons of CO₂ saved" and other "green" messages. But what really makes the bus different is inside.

A big, black steel cabinet behind the driver's seat is stuffed with gadgetry that allows laptop-toting riders to connect to the Internet. The onboard electronics also provide the wall-mounted touch screens with information on the bus' route and location, connecting routes and live information on arrival times. It also collects information about the bus and its operation that will help Muni maintain, schedule and run buses more efficiently.

"This is a smart bus in every way, shape and form," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. "You can download music, you can play video games. It's a bus where you are connected. It's constantly generating information about your connection to the rest of the Muni system."

The technology used to make the Connected Bus possible costs $10,000—a drop in the hi-tech bucket for a big city like SF. Some riders, however, wish that money were going to better use, like making transit more efficient and comfortable, or lining the pockets of bus drivers with better pay, so that they might not be so surly. Would more people take mass transit if they could check their e-mail, in the meantime?

For more information on the Connected bus, see:
sfmuni and The Connected Bus.

Photo via flickr by amanky.

Comments (2)

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Nick said:

Hopefully they won't do what they did in Milwaukee. We now have LCD screens in our buses, but in addition to showing route information and news, they also display BLARING LOUD commercials that make bus rides unbearable. I don't even own a TV at home, why would I want to watch one on a bus??

March 12, 2008

BD said:

Salt Lake City has been running wifi on a few of their buses for over a year now as a pilot program. They now offer wifi on ALL of their express commuter buses (called "MCI's") I believe there is somewhere around 64 commuter buses in the fleet, every one has wifi. I ride one nearly every day and it's so nice to be able to blog and check up on email from the bus instead of wasting the time sitting in a car.

March 13, 2008 | url

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