Still haven't burned them yet....
"Data-driven bus service set to roll out; Venture aims to predict riders’ needs" by Katie Johnston | Globe Staff April 11, 2014
Imagine a mass transit system that could figure out on a daily basis where people are and where they want to go, and then get them there — nonstop — on luxury buses for just a few dollars more than a T ride costs.
That’s the concept behind a first-of-its-kind “pop-up” bus service scheduled to begin trial runs in mid-May with at least four nonstop commuter routes in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.
****************
Founder Matthew George, a 23-year-old Middlebury College graduate, who started a college bus company from his dorm room, said he wants to create a “living, breathing” public transportation system for the 22d century. George said that by harnessing vast amounts of online data that show where people live, work, and play, his bus line — it’s called Bridj — can predict areas of peak demand on any given day and adjust its schedules accordingly.
“Instead of funneling people into traditional categories of public transit, we’re reinventing public transit to match where people actually are,” he said. “We want people to open their phones and say, ‘Hey, I want to go to the bar in Cambridgeport, I know other people going to the bar, there’s probably going to be a Bridj that goes from my area to the bar.’ ”
I'm already having addiction problems and here the Globe is pushing the booze again.
At $5 to $8 a trip, to start, Bridj will be pricier than MBTA buses and trains, but interest in the service — and its high-speed Wi-Fi, leather seats, and complimentary snacks — is already high. George placed an advertisement on Facebook last week looking for 350 people to try out the bus line. Twenty-four hours later, he had received more than 1,000 responses. As of Tuesday, they totalled 3,200.
Justin Miller, a 27-year-old marketing manager who lives near Coolidge Corner and commutes to the Back Bay, is among those selected for Bridj test runs. Miller doesn’t own a car, and he used to take the Green Line to work every day, but got fed up with crowded trains. Now he’s an Uber “power user,” spending up to $150 a month to get to work via the app-driven car service, an alternative to using taxis. Compared with the T crush or a $9 Uber ride, Miller said, a $5 nonstop bus seems like a bargain.
“I’m OK adding some extra expense if it means getting around the city in a comfortable way,” he said.
*****************
George said he has secured more than $3 million from private investors and attracted the attention of several directors and executives at Zipcar, including former chief executive Scott Griffith, now a partner at the venture capital firm General Catalyst....
Just a brilliant kid applying his geniu$.
--more--"
Also see:
Rev. Bruce Wall resigns from advocacy group
Rivers, Wall err badly in seeking funds from rail firm
Keolis gets troubling demand in a push for diversity
Judge rejects MBCR’s request to block commuter rail changeover
Maybe you would like to take a swipe of this link?
Related:
T bus inspector arrested on drug, prostitution charges
Union warns about T janitorial cuts
Time to take the Pike out of Boston:
"The $260 million construction project, scheduled to begin in 2017, has attracted the hopes and dreams of transit activists, business bigwigs, and leaders from around the region."
Then I'm again$t it on principle!
Also see: Two dead in crash on Mass. Pike in Framingham
The roads were "slippery from the sleet and snow that fell overnight."
