Legal Research

Where is My Bus? Find out in Real Time with Madison Metro's WebWatch

One of my biggest problems with riding the bus (when I used to ride it) is having to wait around for a late bus - irritating in good weather but downright miserable in below freezing temps. Yeah, I know that for various reasons delays are unavoidable, but for some reason I'm just not all that sympathetic after I've lost feeling in my extremities.

That's why I think that a new project from the Madison Metro is so cool. According to a press release as published in The Isthmus, Madison Metro is testing a new service called WebWatch which provides real time transit information on the Internet. That means bus riders can wait in inside somewhere warm until right before the next bus is due to arrive. Here's what it looks like:

Apparently the service is still in testing phase and its url will change when it's ready for final release. At that time, the site will be available as a link from mymetrobus.com and cityofmadison.com.

From Madison Metro via The Isthmus:

You should be able to access the site from any computer with an Internet connection. This is not the website address that we will publicize after the testing phase. You may have different experiences depending on the Internet browser that you use; for example the Virtual Earth Map does not work with Firefox and the Google Maps interface seems to work faster with the Firefox browser.

Please note this disclaimer: This site is in testing mode. Please check the Metro Transit Website for information regarding detours and stop closures. This site may not show accurate information where route and stop deviations occur. During special events or severe weather, buses running severely late may be rescheduled or replaced with extra vehicles.

Full post as published by WisBlawg - From the UW Law Library on January 08, 2009 (boomark / email).