Nextbus and the Carolina Shuttle System

The Nextbus Information System provides arrival information for the Day and Evening shuttles at the bus stops, and through any PC with Internet access. Below is a brief explanation of what you are seeing on the Nextbus site.

Arrival Predictions

Nextbus uses a system that "predicts" how long a bus takes to get from one stop to another based on what the bus has done in the past. The more the bus runs on that particular route, the more accurate the predictions will be. That information will be displayed on signs that are being placed inside the shelters at the shuttle stops. Nextbus also provides a public web site that displays these arrival predictions, plus a map displaying the locations of all the shuttles.

The First Screen

Once you've selected the state (South Carolina) and the agency (University of South Carolina), a screen will be displayed with 5 drop-down lists to choose from. Select the route (selection 3) and the stop (selection 5). You will then see predictions of the next 4 times a bus on the selected route will arrive at the selected stop.

The Live Map

On the right side of the page, you will see a link to the live map. This is where you can actually view where the buses are. At first, the only route displayed will be the route selected on the previous page. Click on the "Routes..." button at the top of the map to select other routes. There are also buttons to zoom in and out.

If you hold your cursor over a "bus", you will see the route, the upcoming stop, and the predicted time to that stop.

Hold your cursor over any stop, and you will see arrival predictions for all the buses that stop there.

That's it. There are other features that you can explore, but this is basically what this system does. It uses GPS data to accurately predict when the buses are going to arrive at the stops. In addition to being displayed on the Nextbus site, this information is also displayed on LED signs placed at the stops. You no longer have to wonder how long you are going to have to wait.

We hope that you will take advantage of this new system and the Carolina and Evening Shuttles. If you have any questions about the Nextbus system, please contact Chris Howard at 7-9345 or choward@sc.edu.

If you have any questions about the Shuttles, please contact the Shuttle Coordinators at 777-1080 or shuttle@mailbox.sc.edu.

Proceed to the Nextbus site