Swiftly’s Unified Data Platform for Transit
Swiftly provides a comprehensive data platform delivering real-time passenger predictions, fleet monitoring, and alerts to enhance transit efficiency.
Challenges of Ghost and Zombie Buses
Ghost and zombie buses cause frustration for riders and transit agencies alike. These issues occur when buses either don’t show up as expected or appear unexpectedly, disrupting service reliability.
Definitions
- Ghost bus: A bus a rider expects that never arrives. For example, the app may show a bus arriving in 5 minutes, but as the countdown ends, the bus disappears, leaving passengers stranded and uncertain.
- Zombie bus: A bus that arrives sooner than expected. For example, the app indicates the next bus is 20 minutes away, but one appears in 5 minutes, surprising riders and complicating their planning.
Impact on Riders and Transit Trust
These situations undermine confidence in real-time transit data and disrupt the promise public transit makes to riders: knowing when their bus is coming. When this trust is broken, riders feel stranded and confused.
“Ghost and zombie buses are nightmares for transit agencies and their riders. Few things are more frustrating than waiting for a bus that never comes or being surprised by one that wasn’t supposed to.”
Searching hashtags like #GhostedByTheBus on social media reveals many stories of this frustration. Swiftly aims to eliminate these uncertainties, making transit data accurate and reliable, even when unexpected events occur, improving rider experience and trust.
Conclusion
By tackling ghost and zombie bus issues, Swiftly enhances public transit reliability, ensuring fewer stranded riders and a more dependable travel experience.
Summary: Swiftly’s platform solves ghost and zombie bus problems to restore rider trust by delivering reliable, real-time transit data that improves travel confidence and efficiency.