The days of students sprinting to catch the light rail or bus may soon be over.
Valley Metro implemented a new program earlier this month that will allow both bus and light rail riders to view the next three arrival times for any stop.
Unlike the estimated arrival times listed on the Valley Metro website, the more precise NextRide times are based on a GPS tracking system that provides up-to-date arrival times. Riders can access the service with their phones or by going online.
Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney said the new program “relieves some of the fear of the unknown.”
“You might be sitting in your office wondering, ‘Can I catch the train or work for five more minutes?’” Tierney said.
Signs containing NextRide information will be installed at all 7,465 bus and light rail stops — a process that will take until end of January 2012.
Tierney said Valley Metro officials have begun installing signs at bus stops, but she could not give an exact date when signs would appear in Tempe.
Sustainability senior Alena Hart uses the light rail to get to school and the airport and said she would be able to better plan her schedule with NextRide.
“I get here like two minutes after it has left,” Hart said while waiting for the light rail at the University Drive and Rural Road stop.
Electrical engineering graduate student Jyothi Arlagadda said despite the new system, he would not ride the light rail as often because of the increased cost of the U-Pass – a transportation pass for ASU students. This year’s pass will cost students $150, an increase from last year’s $80.
“It’s hard to tell if [NextRide] will increase ridership,” said Sue Taaffe, community outreach and marketing director for the city of Tempe, citing weather and gas prices as fluctuating factors on ridership.
Despite these outside forces, Tierney said NextRide is a step toward more reliable public transportation.
It’s an effort to “make the transit system more user-friendly,” she said.
To use the NextRide system, riders can text NXRD and a stop number to 64274. Stop numbers can found at valleymetro.org/nextride.
Reach the reporter at sksmith9@asu.edu
