An application that allows users to track the location of the university shuttle buses, and soon, the university's special access buses, is now available to students on the Android Market and Apple Store, and is something the university plans to promote during Welcome Week.
The free app, called TransL+à-ìc, is the result of student demand and months of internal work and research.
With TransL+à-ìc, students have the ability to view the shuttle buses in action and in real time.
The Muncie Indiana Transit System began offering a similar app in April that allows its users to keep track of the 14 different bus routes on a smartphone, tablet or desktop.
Users are even able to receive notifications through text messaging and email alerts.
Vernon Draper, Ball State's senior director of Unified Communications, said the Ball State app works the same way, allowing those without a smartphone or tablet to still have the ability to track the buses while on the go.
When deciding which app to utilize, Draper said the main concern was price and time delay. With the TransL+à-ìc app, there is only a 1-3 second delay from the transmitter located on the bus to your device.
"This was the best choice from our perspective," Draper said. "The other option we were looking at had a 3 to 5 second delay, and when you're going over 1.2 miles, those few seconds make a difference on 'where is the bus?'"
The app is also able to make predictions based on the former history of the route, Draper said.
"It does a prediction and keeps track, historically, and makes a best guess of when it might be at the next stop or the next stop," he said. "From a management perspective, that's something transportation looked at."
Fifty-three different institutions have implemented the TransL+à-ìc system, including Princeton University, Duke University and Harvard University. Although the app carries a higher price than the other options the university looked at, Draper said the features and reliability of the app is what makes the higher price tag worth it.
"The point is, a lot of people have looked around, and this is the preferred app," Draper said.
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