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Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

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Re: Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

#11
Now this is interesting, when compared to Uber and the like. I imagine it requires a large ridership to be worthwhile (otherwise you're basically dispatching large cabs, but charging less), but it's a fascinating concept for large cities.

I imagine there are downsides though - if you're using it to get to work then surely your journey time is variable?

Re: Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

#12
post #11

Now this is interesting, when compared to Uber and the like. I imagine it requires a large ridership to be worthwhile (otherwise you're basically dispatching large cabs, but charging less), but it's a fascinating concept for large cities. I imagine there are downsides though - if you're using it to get to work then surely your journey time is variable?

This is 1000 times more interesting AND useful than Uber. There are concerns with variable journey time, but after a few days of using it, you'll get a sense how long it'll take.

I don't care if it even takes longer than my current commute. I'll definitely use this if it means I get a seat, or am not in a uber crowded bus or subway. That's assuming they don't operate like a normal bus and squeeze as many people in, of course.

Re: Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

#13
post #11

Now this is interesting, when compared to Uber and the like. I imagine it requires a large ridership to be worthwhile (otherwise you're basically dispatching large cabs, but charging less), but it's a fascinating concept for large cities. I imagine there are downsides though - if you're using it to get to work then surely your journey time is variable?

According to a simulation in[1], If employed at scale, such system would have a mean order time of 5 minutes,a mean wait time of half a minute and a mean ride time of 1.5x of a direct trip.

[1]http://www.floating-content.net/~esa/pub/files/jokinen-fists...

Re: Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

#14
I'd love this. If American public transportation fans would stop fantasizing about trains and instead do what really works for most people -- buses -- then we could have things a lot better.

I've been waiting for years for a service that dispatches a nice bus to ride in on my way to work without me having to walk/drive to a bus stop and hope the schedule is right.

I'd accept a modest increase in the commute time if I could read/sleep/play/watch TV for the duration of the commute.

Re: Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

#16

I'd love this. If American public transportation fans would stop fantasizing about trains and instead do what really works for most people -- buses -- then we could have things a lot better. I've been waiting for years for a service that dispatches a nice bus to ride in on my way to work without me having to walk/drive to a bus stop and hope the schedule is right. I'd accept a modest increase in the commute time if I…

If American public transportation fans would stop fantasizing about trains and instead do what really works for most people -- buses

Trains really work for large numbers of people. A single NYC subway train can carry something like 2,400 people. A bus can carry something like 1/10 of that at best. Once you factor in the subway and local train services to New Jersey, CT, Long Island and Upstate New York you really, really don't want to think of buses as the future of mass transit in dense urban areas.

Re: Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

#17
Northern Irish black taxis used to use this basic idea sans the technology. You'd typically get in to a taxi, ask what direction it's going, and if it was going roughly where you wanted, you'd wait until it had filled up with other people going in the same direction.

As you'd imagine, getting from the centre of town back home was fine, but it didn't quite work the other way.

Making this process more flexible by adding technology is a great idea, though it'd depend on the demographic of people who'd want a service like this and whether they actually have smartphones.

Re: Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

#18

I'd love this. If American public transportation fans would stop fantasizing about trains and instead do what really works for most people -- buses -- then we could have things a lot better. I've been waiting for years for a service that dispatches a nice bus to ride in on my way to work without me having to walk/drive to a bus stop and hope the schedule is right. I'd accept a modest increase in the commute time if I…

>do what really works for most people -- buses

Do buses really work better for most people? I live in Chicago and it seems like most people I know (including me) ride the trains unless it can be avoided.

Re: Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

#19
post #3

This isn't new, really. It was already possible to book a taxi / van; elderly people often use services like this. Second, some bus lines get so little used you need to call ahead two hours in advance before they send a bus to the bus stop.

Also disabled people in a lot of places. But does it scale? Of course not.

This is new "technology" in the same way that Amazon's 'predictive local distribution centers' were. (They guess what people in a neighborhood would want in the future, and locally store it ahead of time! Innovation lives!)

Amazon's innovation is managing to do that, not pay taxes, and not have to worry about making a profit at the same time.

Re: Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit

#20
post #11

Now this is interesting, when compared to Uber and the like. I imagine it requires a large ridership to be worthwhile (otherwise you're basically dispatching large cabs, but charging less), but it's a fascinating concept for large cities. I imagine there are downsides though - if you're using it to get to work then surely your journey time is variable?

There's kind of similar services in Japan to get to the airport, using a shared-taxi kind of system with online reservation. It's way better than the bus to reach the terminal (they pick you at home) costs only a bit more and is significantly cheaper than a taxi ride (5 times less).
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