SF Muni testing Wi-Fi bus
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is running a Wi-Fi bus between Stonestown Shopping Center and Outer Richmond from Monday through Friday, thanks to a partnership with Cisco. In addition to providing Wi-Fi to passengers, the bus has several touch-screens that let people who don’t have iPhones or laptops, view transportation maps and obtain information about connecting lines. Wiring the bus cost $10,000. I am not sure it makes a lot of sense to spend this much money on providing Wi-Fi in a bus. The touch-screens are really luxe but they will be destroyed in no time.
There are other cheaper ways to provide Wi-Fi service to passengers in a bus. For example, just put install one of those Wi-Fi access points that use 3G as backhaul. This has been done for less than 2000 Euros per bus in the UK and Estonia by Moovera, a company that makes the access points. They are installed in various UK bus lines and in European trains, too.
Related stories on Wi-Fi in public transport:
Wi-Fi now available on Swedish buses
Free Wi-Fi service on trains in Denmark
Public transport Wi-Fi is hot: SF BART to be unwired
Wi-Fi Rail trial flowers in California’s Bay Area
Thalys hits glitch in impressive train launch
Free Wi-Fi adds to comforts on luxury bus between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur
Glasgow bus riders to get mobile Wi-Fi
Reading Transport to deliver free Wi-Fi on buses
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