Student's iPhone App Updates Users on Public Transit Delays
By Nick Myers and Rebecca Xing
Tomas Whiteantelope and Diana Barajas take AC Transit's 49 line to get home from campus every day with no way of knowing if, or for how long, their bus has been delayed, once waiting over an hour for an arrival they expected in 20 minutes.
Waiting at the bus stop at Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way, Whiteantelope became one of nearly 2,000 people to download a new iPhone application designed by UC Berkeley School of Information graduate student Ljuba Miljkovic - searching for an application that would provide up-to-the-minute information about his commute....
With the help of Miljkovic's master's thesis project, "Transporter," public transportation riders like Whiteantelope and Barajas can keep track of arrival and departure times in the AC Transit, BART and Muni systems with real-time GPS updates....
Developed with the assistance of School of Information graduate student Thejo Kote, "Transporter" features information on when the next bus or train will arrive, how long it will take to get to the next stop and when you will arrive at your destination - all accessible in real-time while in transit....
"With the evolution of technology, the school has maintained an innovative approach, as evidenced by these student projects and applications," said Shirley Salanio, assistant director of admissions and student affairs at the school.
In July, Miljkovic will join the San Francisco-based design firm Adaptive Path as an experience designer....