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OC Transpo unveils real-time bus arrival text alerts

By on September 6, 2011 at 1:26pm in Mobile News


The OC Transpo in Ottawa has unveiled real-time bus arrivals via text message. This is a free service that’s available in both English and French, but they state that standard carrier text rates apply. All you have to do is enter the stop number (which is located on the bus stop sign) to 560560 from your mobile phone. In addition, you can receive up to 3 upcoming bus arrival schedule times at once. OC Transpo also states they’ll be launching an app by the end of the year, but didn’t state which platforms it’ll be available on.

Source: OC Transpo

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Discussion

20 comments for “OC Transpo unveils real-time bus arrival text alerts”

  1. Sweet. Most people have unlimited text, but limited calling and Internet access. It’s weird how they came with the phone and Internet services first, but it’s about time that SMS bus schedules are available.

    Apps? Will they let you use your current location? That would be cool! :-)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 6

    Posted by Alex Perrier | September 6, 2011, 1:29 pm
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    • Define ‘Most people’. Do you have the stats to back that up?
      If you mean most teenagers, then I agree.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1

      Posted by Friko | September 6, 2011, 3:12 pm

  2. The text of this article is very confusing. The number which you text to is 560560 and the text of the message is the bus stop number. In your text it says to enter 560560 + stop number which is incorrect.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0

    Posted by L Sheen | September 6, 2011, 1:41 pm
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    • Agreed.

      It should say: text your bus stop number to 560560
      And NOT: 560-560-XXXX

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 10

      Posted by Alex Perrier | September 6, 2011, 1:49 pm

  3. Neat, but how about not raising bus pass prices every month (while reducing service) instead?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0

    Posted by barry | September 6, 2011, 1:49 pm
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  4. Thumbs up if you’ve noticed that Alex Perrier always gets lots of thumbs down!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 3

    Posted by Anonymous | September 6, 2011, 1:56 pm
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  5. This is a free service however bus passes seem to be on the rise every 6 months as the number of buses on the road seem to be decreasing.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Etienne | September 6, 2011, 1:57 pm
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  6. I’m assuming “real time” is based on the buses GPS co-ordinates?
    Guess that means they will have to SHOW UP ON TIME from now on!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0

    Posted by tremSr | September 6, 2011, 4:34 pm
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  7. Couldn’t have been too difficult to set up something that auto replies “Running behind schedule” 3 times.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0

    Posted by TrickyD | September 6, 2011, 4:38 pm
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  8. This is NOT realtime. Only scheduled arrival times. There are also already apps with Windows Phone 7 and Android (I guess probably Apple too), so nothing to get excited about there…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 2

    Posted by DonSod | September 6, 2011, 6:23 pm
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    • iOS already had an application, Which is little bit better than “My OC Transpo” on Android.

      Windows Phone 7? What’s it called. I keep myself buying one till someone release an application too. :)

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 3

      Posted by Binku | September 6, 2011, 9:23 pm

    • Incorrect. This is based on GPS data, which is updated every 2 minutes. Not quite proper real-time, but far better than scheduled times.

      The call-in stop schedule is still based on scheduled arrival times, though they plan on upgrading that.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2

      Posted by BT | September 7, 2011, 3:10 pm

  9. B.C has had this for years now (:

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1

    Posted by A.K | September 6, 2011, 6:46 pm
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    • In Vancouver, all busses have timers that tell the driver how “late” or “early” they are… and yes, they beep and ring to tell the driver to hurry up and how late the bus is. This information gets uploaded over Wifi (at most bus stops), so the network always has mostly-accurate “arrival” time information. And it works pretty well!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

      Posted by sunHammer | September 7, 2011, 2:37 am

  10. Useless because OC Transpo buses are always late.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1

    Posted by Thomas Hawk | September 7, 2011, 8:23 am
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  11. The best OCtranspo app is MyTranspo on the new windows Phones – hands down…and yes I’ve tried them all.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

    Posted by StanLee | September 7, 2011, 8:29 pm
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  12. I can’t seem to get this to work on my Nexus S. I definitely made sure that I was sending my text to 560560 but every time I got a Message Not Sent notification.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Mat | September 8, 2011, 10:36 am
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  13. I confirmed from the OCTranspo website that it definately only the scheduled times being text back. They are currently working on real-time GPS tracking but that is still not available.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

    Posted by GOwens | September 8, 2011, 4:19 pm
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  14. Winnipeg Transit has had this sort of text feature for quite some time now…
    Now an app for smartphones coudl def be good too for those who use public transport.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by J | September 14, 2011, 1:26 am
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