Task 13: Redesigning and re-instrumentalising activities
by Ilya Shmorgun
I use public transportation most of the time for getting around the city. I use it to go to work, then to school and back home. After visiting Stockholm last Christmas I was amazed with the fact that they have bus stops showing the exact time when the next bus is scheduled to arrive. I am not exactly sure how it is done, maybe the buses use GPS chips to update some central information system of their current location which then calculates and pushes the data to all the bus stops on the route.
I’ve used to check the Tallinn public transportation arrival times website every time I needed to go somewhere just to make sure I was not late and had to wait 20 minutes for the next bus to arrive. This summer I’ve discovered an iPhone application called iRoute, which let’s me check the schedules for all the public transportation means and all bus stops in Tallinn. The app lets users make a list of their favorite stops and lines, which they use most frequently. Once the app is launched it shows when the next bus is scheduled to arrive depending on the current time. iRoute also lets users see the nearest stops depending on their current GPS location.
iRoute has really enhanced the way I use public transportation. All of a sudden it became so much more natural and efficient. Still there are ways to take this a step further. We could learn from the Stockholm experience adding real world arrival times to bus stops and mobile applications.
And what about route planning. We already have that feature on the web, why not make it available in a mobile application as well? iRoute has made an attempt of realizing that but the feature does not work that well unfortunately.
This direction of ambient technology is something I’ve been thinking a lot recently. Computers do not have to be complex terminals which most of the people have no idea how to use. Instead we should integrate them seamlessly in our everyday lives and see how our cities become smarter and our lives easier.
