Ready...Set...Ride is a mobile application that uses
GPS tracking to provide students with accurate, real time arrival times of
Centro buses and shuttles. In addition to bus arrival
times, Ready...Set...Ride will also provide directions to nearest bus
stops, transit directions from one location go another, bus route maps, and
alerts for each time the every bus is running its final route.
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service
application provided by Google which powers many map-based services. Including maps
embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API (Wikipedia). It
offers street maps, a route planner for traveling by foot, car, bike
or public transport. Unlike Google Maps, Ready...Set...Ride
is solely based on public transportation, not driving or walking.
Also, Ready...Set...Ride will not use maps embedded on third-party websites,
Instead it will utilize the company's own satellite and GPS tracking services
which increases the chances of Ready...Set...Ride's predictions to be more
accurate and precise. In addition, Google Maps does not provide transit for
Syracuse University shuttles.
Next Bus DC
Similar to Ready...Set...Ride, Next Bus DC is a mobile
application that uses satellite tracking to provide real-time bus arrivals.
Both apps operate as a countdown, showing how many minutes are left until a bus
arrives. However, this app does not provide a push notification when a bus is
running its last route of the day and students run a risk of missing the last
bus. Additionally, Next Bus DC does not provide alerts when a bus' route is
canceled due to bad weather, construction, or an emergency and users do not
have the liberty to add a bus to their list of favorites so that the route is
shown as soon as the app launches.
Summary
While both apps are very useful to track bus arrival times,
Ready...Set...Ride is made especially with Syracuse University students in
mind. The application is solely focused on the buses that run on campus which
gives it the opportunity to pay extreme attention to those buses and eliminate
any chance of frequent errors. This app also has features to allow
for customization including the ability to have a list of favorites
and the ability to get push notifications whenever one of the buses is running its
last route.
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