awesome shot from serakate [flickr] who shared this via our group pool [#]

The other day I was sitting on the 55 heading from downtown to the Alaska Junction and overheard a couple of passengers complaining that it would be nice if they could find out how late a bus was going to be while they were at their stop. It occurred to me to (out myself as an eavesdropper and) tell them that yes, this is possible, but I was too squished into the seat to feel kind to anyone at that particular moment in time.

Later that week at the monthly meet-up, I realized that even though Josh [mb] and Kristen [mb] had already posted mentions (and comments [mb]) about mybus [#], that this service is still in dire need of press.

The Reader’s Digest version is this: All you need is a cellphone with SMS texting capabilities and you can find out when your bus will arrive.

**Please note: I have a pretty low-end phone with basic texting options (certain number included in my monthly bill) and it works okay for me, so if you’re not sure, I’d suggest trying it out before ruling it out.**

But how do you do it? Instructions and examples follow…If you already know about mybus, please, feel free to skip the instructions and go directly to the comments to share how much you too love this service.

• First, send a text message to sms@mybus.org with your route number.
  For example, I would send 56 to find out about the route from Alki to downtown.
  ~
• Mybus will text you back the bus-stop location numbers for that particular route.
  In response to my example, I would receive a text that includes the following:
  Subject: Route 56
  CALADML=6003
  61SWALKI=6017

  Note: I also lock these location texts for future reference, thereby eliminating the first two steps for my regular routes.
  ~

• Send a second text message to the same address (sms@mybus.org) with your route number, at, and the bus-stop location number.
  So, continuing on the same example, I would send 56@6003 to find out when the next 56 would show up at the California and Admiral bus stops.
  ~
• Mybus will then text you back the times and directions for the next buses will arrive at that bus stop within the next 30 minutes.

  CAL ADML
  AlkiBch 3:30
  Downtown 3:25
  AlkiBch 3:55
  ~

• Alternatively, if you can take many busses from one particular stop, you can just text the at symbol with the bus-stop location number and mybus will text you back which routes and times will be arriving at that stop.

  @2153

  BDWYMDSN
  {60 WhiteCtr 8:21}
  {12 Downtown 8:24}
  {43 CntrlDst 8:36}
  {12 IntlknPk 8:53}
  {60 CaptHill 8:47}

As I already mentioned, it is pretty awesome not having to cut fun short only to stand out in the rain for 30 minutes waiting for your fancy ride home.