A private bus service launched this week in Boston that decides service based on crowdsourced data on where and when people need to travel.
Katherin Q. Seelye reports on a 'pop up' bus service called Bridj that chooses routes from data collected from "Google Earth, Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, LinkedIn, the census, municipal records and other sources" to decide where people are and where they need to go.
"The brainchild of Matthew George, a 23-year-old entrepreneur, Bridj uses algorithms to make the bus routes 'smarter.' As more people use it, it will adjust the routes accordingly," writes Seeyle.
The article includes the take of both the Boston Taxi Drivers Association and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on the innovative transit service. As for the latter's take: "The transportation authority sees Bridj at this fledgling stage as a complement to the T. 'This is not a competitive situation at all,' said Joseph Pesaturo, the authority spokesman."
For the record, however, city bus fare is $1.50, subway fare is $2, and Bridj fare is $6.
"Mr. George is in talks to start Bridj in several other cities, which he declined to identify, by the end of summer."
Read the full story: To Lure Bostonians, New ‘Pop-Up’ Bus Service Learns Riders’ Rhythms
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