System texts schedule for student commute

For students who have ever waited more than 20 minutes for a bus in frigid winter temperatures, a new text messaging system is trying to prevent the situation from happening any longer.

Vaibhav Verma, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student, recently debuted his new text-messaging system that gives students the information they need when preparing for their next bus ride.

"The system works by texting the word ‘rubus,' followed by the abbreviation for the stop you want, to the number 41411," he said. "A text message will be sent back giving the student times for every bus coming to that stop."

The abbreviations for the stops are available at his Eden Web site, http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~vverna/nextbus.

Verma said his interest in creating the new system was based on his dissatisfaction with the current one.

"Ever since last semester, I've liked the idea about ‘NextBus,'" Verma said. "However, when I looked at their Web site, I felt it was a pain to use."

Students were happy to hear about a new system that does not require going to a computer to get bus arrival times.

Director of Transportation Services Jack Molenarr said, at yesterday's College Avenue Council meeting, that the new system is simple, effective and approves of the use by students.

Ryan Riccobene, a School of Engineering junior, said he did not like having to access a computer before going to a bus stop.

"The text-messaging system would make it much easier, because I'm not always able to check the computer for bus times," Riccobene said. "Everybody has phones, so it seems much more effective."

Verma said his system is much more effective than the NextBus system, because it is more general.

"It makes finding bus times simpler because you only have to select a bus stop and not a route," he said.

The new system also does not require a smartphone.

"As long as you can receive text messages, this service will work for you no matter what phone you have," Verma said.

Since the service is still in development, some students are a bit doubtful of its effectiveness.

Madelena Santore, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, expressed her concern about the system, saying she does not trust its accuracy.

"I would definitely use the new text-messaging service. But if it is new, I'm kind of skeptical on how efficient it really is," she said.

Verma admitted the system is still in the development stage, and that he would need a bigger server if the system becomes popular.

"The system has received [more than] 5,000 requests for bus times since I launched it last Tuesday, which is around 1,000 requests per day," he said.

Knowing that a much bigger system is needed to keep the system running, the Rutgers University Student Assembly stepped in to help Verma develop the system.

"RUSA is going to provide me with resources I currently don't have, like using their Web host to run the service," he said.

Yousef Saleh, vice-chair of RUSA, said the organization had to help Verma because it was such a promising system.

"When we first heard about Verma's system, we had to jump at the opportunity to help him and give him the necessary tools to develop it," said Saleh, a School of Arts and Sciences junior.

The first step is to run the service on the RUSA Web server, which Verma said would help out the system tremendously, Saleh said.

RUSA is always looking to help students who have a new idea or need help in any area, he said.

"Once we find out there is [a] student who needs help with something, we help that student out," Saleh said. "I feel it is the job of the student assembly to do so."

He was interested in the system because it allows students without a computer to get the bus times.

"Not every student has a smartphone," Saleh said. "I find that this system is much easier to use than going on a computer to find the times."

He also said that RUSA wants to make sure the system is still around even after Verma leaves the University.

"We want it to be something that is sustainable, seeing as it could definitely expand to much greater levels," Saleh said. "We are looking in the long-term sense to keep it in the system."