Every year the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) looks for new ways to improve the experience of students. One of the big changes this year is the new bus locator system. Students can visit the website www.bc.transloc.com and check on the location of any Boston College buses. Each bus has a GPS locator to track which stop it is heading towards and what direction it is going.

The system works on computers and some phones. On a computer, it shows a map with bubbles for each bus. The phone system has written information about the bus locations.

With the system, students can specify which bus line they need. The information for the Newton bus line and the Commonwealth Avenue line is displayed separately. The system even shows an early morning Law School line that runs direct from off campus stops to Newton Campus.

THE WHEELS ON THE BUD GO ROUND AND ROUND: The BC Bus drives down Beacon Street.

The company that runs the system, Transloc, comes out of Raleigh, North Carolina. They run similar bus tracking services at numerous universities, including Harvard University and our ACC rival, N.C. State.

The Transloc system is intended to reduce the amount of time students need to wait for buses by allowing them to identify exactly when a bus will arrive at their stop. This should allow students to time their transit more efficiently.

UGBC worked for several years to bring this system to BC. They invested a signifi cant amount of money into it in the hopes that it would improve the experience students have with transportation.

Some, however, have raised the question of whether the system was worth the investment. After all, the buses are supposed to run on a regulated schedule. The system also does not work on all cell phones, even if they have some form of web browser. Some students have even noticed inaccuracies in the bus times.

Having lived on Newton freshman year, I can say the bus locator system is certainly an improvement to transportation at BC. Although the buses are supposed to run on a regular schedule, it is diffi cult to tell when they will arrive at any given stop. Traffic and other factors affect how long it takes to get between stops and throw off the schedule.

Knowing exactly when a bus will arrive allows me to time when I leave my room. I can check on my computer to see when a bus is approaching Main Gate and leave in time to arrive with the bus. After spending far too much time in my past three years here waiting endlessly for buses to arrive, this knowledge is immensely valuable.

For the freshman living on Newton Campus, this feature is particularly useful. Students heading to class no longer have to leave incredibly early or worry about missing the bus. One Newton RA said his residents use the bus tracker all the time.

As far as accuracy goes, I have not noticed any problems. The map on my computer loads well on all the web browsers I have. All I need to do is find the stop I want and see where the closest bus is. While I have still missed the bus after checking, this is entirely my fault for not timing the walk to the bus stop well.

I tried using the system on my phone, but the web browser did not have the right capabilities (I have a regular phone with a limited browser, not a Blackberry or iPhone). As long as I am within reach of the Boston College wireless network, however, I can use my iPod. This works well and as long as I refresh the page the information is incredibly accurate. I walked up Commonwealth Avenue towards Main Gate and read as it told me what direction the bus was heading in and whether it had left the College Road stop or not.

Blackberry users have reported similar accuracy with their system.

This system makes travelling on the BC bus lines a much better experience. Students no longer need to wait for a long time at bus stops guessing when their bus will arrive. And once the weather starts getting cold and snowy, this is one change that will be even more appreciated.