Matt Pulford, Campus Carrier Staff Reporter
The Berry class buses can be difficult to locate, but a smart phone app is being developed which would help students track the buses.
The app has been developed by two students to track the route and progress of the Berry class buses. However, this app is still in the prototype and planning stages and is not yet available to the public.
Cal Supik, a senior and co-designer of the program said initially this tracking system was to be started last spring.
Though the tests worked, there were kinks and logistics to work out before the app could be made widely available. However, another attempt this fall is possible, Supik said.
This Internet-based app would give the location of the two class buses around campus.
“Our application would track the bus[es] in real time where [they] were on campus. We decided to have a map for the users to see, and an icon that literally moves as the bus moves,” Supik said.
According to Campus Scheduling Coordinator Helen Simmons, whose office manages bus routes and scheduling, the bus driver would sign in and the icon would appear. The app would feature alerts if there were a flat tire, maintenance issue or an emergency situation, she said.
Students would open a web browser, follow a link and then be able to track the buses. Each bus would have a designated color, Simmons said.
“If you’re a student trying to catch the bus, you can see where it is and you’ll know whether to turn left or right to catch it,” Simmons said.
Supik said there are several logistics that need to be worked out before this application can be made available to the public. These changes include switching servers that the app runs on and deciding how best to track the individual buses, Supik added.
Nadeem Hamid, associate professor of mathematics and computer science, supervised the class project last spring, and according to him, the app was hosted on the computer science server. Presumably, the app would be integrated into the IT department and run on the Berry server, he said.
In the prototype phases, the buses have been tracked by using the internal location of an iPhone or Android device on the bus, Hamid said. The next step, according to Supik, is to decide whether to invest in a GPS tracking system or continue using the signal from mobile devices.
Once the application is made public, use of the class buses is expected to increase.
“Some people don’t know when and where the bus runs,” Simmons said. “So having this information available to students will be huge. And in terms of having this resource information to students will increase [use of the buses].”
Several students have already expressed excitement at the proposition of this tracking application.
Sophomore Brittany Jones frequently rides the class buses as long as she can find them.
“I don’t ride it in the mornings because I never know if one will be there or not,” Jones said.
Katie Johnson, sophomore and mountain campus resident, shared similar sentiments and enthusiasm for the app.
“I’m really excited about it. A lot of times you get stuck on main campus for an hour if you’re not certain on route times,” Johnson said.
Even a Berry alumna affirmed the positivity of this new app. Erin Moniz, director of student ministries and 2003 graduate, has been a long time supporter of public transportation, and she feels that this virtual locator will only increase bus use.
“Most people don’t use the class buses because of lack of communication and schedule issues,” Moniz said.
A more easily located class bus might result in less individual car use, helping reduce our carbon footprint, Moniz added.
“We have a lot of cars on campus,” Moniz said. “We don’t want to have everyone drive their cars everywhere.”