Bus Journey Planner

Weeks ago, I lamented the snail pace progress of the electronic bus journey planner. Originally scheduled for public trial release in July, it is not until today that it is launched. For those who are unaware, you may read up some background here. Essentially it is an integrated tool that enable people to plan how to get from one point to another using public bus services offered by the two major operators.

I've given it a try and here are my findings:

• It is bus-stop based. Although it offers three different ways of search (by street names, MRT stations, or bus interchanges), it still requires user to select which bus stops they are boarding and alighting. This is unlike journey planners in other countries which also offer major attractions/landmark as another way. It would be great if TransitLink can incorporate "landmark enquiry" into the bus journey planner.
  
• Bus stops are paired. What this means is that it is able to advice you to walk to the opposite bus stops if you choose the wrong direction of travel. Say goodbye to solutions that require you to travel in nonsensical loops.
  
• Walking distances are coded. When suggesting an alternative bus stop, it is able to tell you the walking distance from the bus stop you've selected to the proposed boarding point. Best of all, you can select how far you are prepared to walk to alternative bus stops for more direct journey by choosing from a selection of 200m, 300m or 400m. (Why not offer solutions of up to 800m if people are willing to walk?)
  
• Number of bus stops. Besides providing the usual information of fares and travel times, it also lists the number of bus stops in between boarding point and alighting point of each leg of the journey.
  
• Make it more user friendly please. It would be easier to select the street addresses from the drop-down menu if it is separated into smaller list (say breakdown by alphabet) instead of a single long-list. Second, it is intuitive to provide a link at the proposed solutions page to allow users to view the bus route details with a single click.
• More fare information please. Instead of giving adult (ez-link) fare and cash fare only, why not list child fare and senior citizen fares too? Also, please help us to compute the total journey fare by including transfers rebates too! (I'm sure you're able to deal with the complications arising from SBST $1.90 fare cap)

And the last of my comment? Please consider expanding the journey planner to include other modes. We should not be contended with having a BUS ONLY journey planner. We should challenge ourselves to develop a total integrated journey planner, offering solutions using buses, MRTs, and even walking!

Explore it here now.

LTA And Transitlink Launch Electronic Bus Journey Planner

Joint News Release

From today, commuters will be able to plan their bus journeys with the Electronic Bus Journey Planner at www.transitlink.com.sg. The Planner will cover all bus services provided by SBS Transit and SMRT.

1 By indicating the origin and destination bus stops or bus interchanges, commuters will be able to obtain information on various possible bus travel routes, select their desired travel route, determine the estimated travel time, number of transfers required and fares for each route.

2 The Planner is introduced on a 3-month trial basis, with funding support from the Land Transport Authority. This is part of LTA's continual efforts to promote the use of public transport and make it a choice mode for commuters. During the trial, TransitLink will obtain commuters' feedback and suggestions and improve on the Electronic Bus Journey Planner where relevant. Commuters are encouraged to provide their comments via TransitLink website www.transitlink.com.sg.

Source: LTA, TransitLink (27 Aug 2007)