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>> Sumi Das: It's always a shot in the dark when you take the bus. How long until the next bus arrives? What's the fastest route to your destination? In the future bus stops may have the answers.

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>> Sleeker, smarter, greener. This is how MIT Media Lab researchers envision the future bus stop. Developed for the city of Florence the I Stop with its translucent glass and electronic ink displays looks more like modern art than a place to hop a bus. But the chic shelters and bus poles have plenty of function to accompany their form.

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>> Instead of scrutinizing the horizon for an approaching bus interactive touch screens powered in part by photovoltaic surfaces tell riders exactly how many minutes they have to wait and as the bus nears the I stop glows more intensely. And you could say good bye to traditional ticket hassles. Riders can buy their fare online or at the I Stop then a bar code serving as proof of payment would be emailed to your mobile phone which you can scan once you board. No more fumbling for the exact change or wondering where you put that ticket. And the technology lets you do more. Post community announcements on an electronic bulletin board. Plan a trip and text the itinerary to your phone and if passengers decide to share itineraries they could receive targeted ads. For example, for a restaurant near the rider's destination and how will the I Stop handle the vandals of the future? The inventors plan to cover valuable electronics with tempered glass and they're investigating self cleaning, scratch and graffiti proof surfaces. The future bus stop it could put an end to the waiting game. For Smart Planet I'm Sumi Das.

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==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====

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  •  
    1

    daengbo

    11/11/09 | Report as spam

    Look at Korea for the Future ... Now

    If you head over to Korea, most bus stops already have monitors which tell you which buses are coming in the next 15 minutes and when they are expected to arrive. While I don't know the details about how they work, my experience leads me to believe that buses have a tracking device which is read by bus stops the bus passes. The times are generally accurate to within 1-2 minutes, but buses which are less than five minutes out are just in the "coming soon" section, I think because those buses have passed the last bus stop which can track them.

    Although there is no computerized assistance, each stop has maps of each route which passes. All in all, it's quite convenient.

  •  
    2

    mvitorino@...

    11/16/09 | Report as spam

    Look also at Portugal for the Future...

    In Portugal those monitors are also a few years old. Work pretty much
    like daengbo described for the ones in Korea. You can also send a SMS
    with some codes to get the same information on your mobile phone.

  •  
    3

    lperez@...

    11/25/09 | Report as spam

    RE: The future of... bus stops

    Hi, here in Santiago-Chile we use a chip-card you can use in subway or in buses, it's great, you can charge it in subway stations, ATM, or even by internet through you bank web page or others pages. The buses has GPS system to ensure precise arrive of each one on the hour the bus stop has in list, bus stop uses some kind of showcase with map of area near and hours the bus arrives. Like many other places we have serious problems with young unbrain people. This intelligent and interactive bus stop sounds great for the future. By now, I'm really happy with the chip-card is a great idea too. May te force be with you all!

  •  
    4

    n.gurr@...

    12/02/09 | Report as spam

    Flat Roof

    In London and the UK in general we have issues with Pigeons who are likely to sit on the flat roof and produce droppings, a pointy roof may help reduce this, something they want to think on. The roof is not too deep either which is going to limit the amount of rain cover.

    Apart from that though it is pretty amazin idea.

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