OCTA launches Text4Next: get bus schedules on your phone
OCTA just launched Text4Next, which allows you receive text messages for the next upcoming bus (thus confirming my blog post on OCTA's text messaging system from a few months back). It's a nifty new tool to make riding the bus easier. Kudos to OCTA staff for — in the face of budget and political constraints — trying to improve the transit experience as much as possible.
You can text "bus <stopnumber> <routenumber>" and optionally "<time> <date>". For example, text "bus 3563 71 400p 102309" to OCTAGO to receive bus arrivals for route 71, 4:00pm on 10/23/2009.
For more details and instructions, visit www.octa.net/octago .
Normal text messaging rates apply.
Comments
Improve?
Considering the new routes 153 &129 what are Kudos being given for? This is a below the waterline torpedo that will do nothing to save money but will do everything to strand passengers in questionable areas waiting for a transfer that probably will never come or be a pass by. At least the brea mall transfer point gives one something to do while waiting 90 minutes plus for a bus! This text service is like Redi Whip on a pile of dog do. The money could be put into bus service. Most people riding the bus cannot afford texting services.
Tony
Don't need this. I'll be
Don't need this. I'll be driving during my last semester at school once these service cuts go into effect.
Five minutes for a reply
Seriously, who remembers the stop numbers? Anyway, I tried this today, and it took over five minutes to get a reply. I was already on the bus when it came. What would you expect for the OCTA?
Stop numbers
I think I read it in one of their meeting minutes, but OCTA launched this to reduce the number of calls made to their customer service hotline. (Edit: Actually, it's here in this news article at http://www.dmnews.com/california-transportation-agency-finds-cost-savings-in-mobile-program/article/158750/ : "We have had huge cutbacks in our bus services and in our marketing budget, and we found that our biggest expenditure for marketing was the call center,” said Stella Lin, marketing manager of OCTA. “We are paying $2 a call, and a lot of people are just calling because they want to know the new bus schedule information. We realized that it would be much more cost-effective to provide this bus schedule information via text message.”
The texting service will help OCTA cut its call center budget, which costs the agency more than $160,000 a month. According to a recent rider survey, published in November, 75% of bus riders have cell phones and 64% have text-enabled cell phones. "
It's too bad the response times aren't that good. But, at least you can run Google Maps for Mobile and get OCTA schedules that way too.