While I think the cell phone/web apps are a nice idea, I would MUCH rather see the existing bus and Metrolink stops revamped. Many cities around the world (and here at home) list bus schedules and routes at their stops. And no, I do not think it is too much to have at every stop. The only way you get around St. Louis on a bus these days is to either have a connection to the web (aside — the schedules listed on Metro’s trip finder are NOT always right) or know where youre going. Signs half falling down? Surely we can do better than this.

The GPS for buses would be a “nice to have” but that requires money and maintenance, which I understand entirely.

Thanks! The CAD/AVL technology would be available on BRT buses, and actually the technology is being phased into our bus system right now. When a bus retires (we retire them around 650,000 miles, 150,000 more than FTA guidelines), we bring in new buses with this technology built in. It will not only allow bus tracking and real-time arrivals, but also more advanced security features, automatic stop announcements, and maintenance help. You may have seen these newer buses; they have low floors as well. So the technology is coming, it just depends on how quickly we can implement it.

And regarding bus schedule and route info at stops, it is a very important point you make. Your comment sparked a fresh conversation on the topic. We are working right now to find creative and sustainable ways to post schedule info and to keep bus riders informed. I know, I ride the bus and would like to see the schedules featured. I’ll keep you posted as we test ways to get that information out to you.

Warren, I would say that those are excellent ideas; however, all of these things would have costs. The bus schedules might not be too much, but they would still require a lot of labor to produce, install, and periodically update, especially if you want to reach every single bus stop.

The message boards that announce when the next bus is arriving requires not only the boards, but on-board GPS on buses, communications links between the boards and a central server, a server and software to calculate the GPS feed and predict arrival time, and on-going maintenance efforts. This takes several years and quite a bit of money to implement. I would hope that this would be a standard feature on any future BRT routes, though?

Better still: create lightboards that tell riders when the bus is actually coming.

The proposed “amenities” are fine for people who a) have cellphones (which isn’t everyone) and b) are willing to spend money sending text-messages every time they wonder where the bus is (which certainly isn’t everyone.)