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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Given metro Atlanta’s transportation mess, it’s refreshing to find progressive thinkers who are looking to improve things within the existing infrastructure, at little cost to anyone. Kari Watkins is an engineering professor at Georgia Tech who, while at the University of Washington, co-developed a computer application for Seattle transit called OneBusAway. The app taps into vehicles’ GPS and provides real-time arrival information on users’ computers and mobile phones. This allows riders to limit their wait times at bus stops and train stations. Watkins and her Tech students are now working with MARTA to develop similar technology here. (The coding for OneBusAway was also used to create MTA Bus Time in New York.) In Seattle, project research for OneBusAway, available at www.onebusaway.org, turned up some interesting findings: • Surveys show that people perceive they are waiting much longer for transit than they actually are — some research suggests up to twice as long — but Watkins found that with real-time information, there is no longer a difference between perception and reality. Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Opinion)
