Bus route planning – there’s an app for that
We’ve been learning a whole lot about riding the bus for this project. It’s an inevitable side effect as we go from never riding the bus before to riding the bus nearly every day (starting tomorrow!!*). But this tidbit has been so helpful that I had to share it.
Google maps has a bus route function.
Boom.
I know many of you probably already knew this. But I never paid attention to the fact that you can switch Google maps off of “driving” directions to bus routes, bicycle riding, or walking directions. Which is really, really helpful.
When you look at the spiderweb of bus routes on a map, it can be overwhelming. There’s just no way around it. Omaha is a big city, and they try to extend coverage to as many people as possible – which leads to some 31 different bus routes and a 200,000 square foot bus barn. It’s a big production. The Google maps route can really help you simplify your planning down. Instead of studying all the different routes and learning where they travel and when – you can just type in where you are, where you want to go, and when you want to depart.
We’re still doing all the route by route study, because it’s important for this project. But for the average traveler, just type it in and go. It’s very convenient. And if you have a smartphone, this is ridiculously convenient.
If you’re not a bus rider, try typing in some locations and see what a trip by bus would be like for you. Try planning a trip from your home to your favorite coffee shop or restaurant, or to get groceries. If you’re feeling adventurous, actually take the trip. It’ll be a good way to experience what we will be experiencing, and be a part of the community of people who ride the bus. Maybe we’ll see you there. When you do this, leave a message in the comments about what you experienced when you planned the trip or made the venture.
If you ride the bus regularly, do you use technology like this to help you plan? What is the process like for you to map out a trip? Do you have any other tips for us?
-Jameson Hooton
* If you’re curious why we haven’t ridden the bus yet, there are two reasons: 1) We missed the bus on our first day! We’re excited to remedy that ridiculous foible with our amazing successes tomorrow. ;) 2) We just got home from photographing a wedding in California! Check out the link to see part of our trip chronicled with instagram photos.
Hi, I usually ride the bus to get to school at Metro and sometimes when I’m just looking to have a chill night downtown. I’m somewhat enthused with the buses and the routes, so I follow all the developments that have to do with Metro and I’m always thinking of ways to improve the service. I’ve always found it easy to plan my own trips and for me it’s really just a process of back-tracking the schedules. Say I want to go downtown on Friday night and stay out as late as the bus will let me. Since I live near North 72nd, I would need to take the 18Crossroads (westbound) home, and its last trip from downtown is at 10:15. So maybe I want to spend about an hour downtown so I look at the times when the 18Downtown (eastbound) arrives downtown, which is 11:00, 10:15, 9:30, 8:45 and 8:00. 8:45 sounds good to me, so I pinpoint the trip that gets me downtown at 8:45 and I back-track that trip to the timepoint that’s closest to my house. I don’t get on the bus at the timepoint, but a few blocks before so I estimate that the bus will be there about a minute before the timepoint. I then add about five minutes to wait, plus the time to get to the stop. So heres what that trip looks like:
Walk to 72nd (about 13 minutes) arrive at the stop at 7:58
Get on the 18Downtown at 8:03
Arrive at 13 & Douglas at 8:45 and mosey around Downtown for a while
Walk to 13 & Farnam; arrive at the stop at 10:10
Get on the 18Crossroads at 10:15
Arrive at my stop at 10:52; walk home
We just might have to take that route, Willie! We’re always looking for suggestions on where to ride and when. Maybe we’ll see you there!