Tufts University Department of Public and Environmental Safety (DPES) is currently collaborating with Tufts Technology Services to unveil a new web and software application that will show the Joeys exact location, schedule and expected time of arrival.
What we had in the past was just a website showing the JoeyTracker, TTSs Web Applications Team Lead Bill Sivret said. With the new prototype, it has the times it will be available and also a dynamic GPS system that lets you see exactly where the bus is within two seconds.
According to Sivret, this prototype will be accessible through both smartphone applications and the Tufts Mobile website. The DPES webpage will also stay updated with announcements and information including whether or not the JoeyTracker is online.
The inspiration for the project came from a perceived need to increase student convenience and safety in regards to transportation, Sivret said.
The mobile site ties into the JoeyTracker seamlessly, he said. If theres an emergency, like a snowstorm, we can create new routes very quickly. There is flexibility.
The tracker was meant to be easily accessible on a mobile phone according to Louis Galvez III, the administrative services supervisor for DPES.
We wanted to update the homegrown product, Galvez said. We thought it should be used 24/7 and should be supported by the mobile site, with native apps for the iPhone and Android.
According to Applications Architect for TTS Tom Klejna, a pilot version of the program was released online for one week at the end of the fall semester. Students were asked via Twitter and other social media to test it out and report back with their findings and criticisms. Most gave a very positive response.
Ninety percent of the students who responded to the online query gave it a liked or strongly liked rating, and the site views tripled just from the test, Galvez said.
Students were eager to use the new application, according to Klejna.
At least two dozen students said they wanted it up sooner rather than later, he said.
Klejna added that offering the application sooner rather than later would also increase campus safety.
Vans encounter traffic, break down, he said. ...We want it working [as soon as possible] for predictability and that added element of safety. Hopefully, progress will be made during the coming semester, and students will take huge advantage of this.
In addition to DEPS and TTS, students also took on a collaborative role in the project, according to Sivret. The projects leaders worked with juniors Brendan Conron and Mario Hall, the creators of a Joey-tracker app PartyBus, to see if they could integrate their ideas.
We want to team up with the students as closely as possible, Klejna said. Its for them, so we really appreciate any feedback we can get.
Double Map, the GPS equipment provider for several universities including Saint Louis University and Indiana University at Bloomington, provided the GPS equipment for the pilot to Tufts, according to the TTS website. However, according to Klejna, the university is still considering three different vendors for the new JoeyTracker.
Now that the pilot has been tested, the services creators must go through the universitys standard process to get the project formally approved, Galvez said.
We have to make sure the funding is there, Sivret said.
Although the official JoeyTracker has not been up and running in about a year, Sivret explained it will be easy to put an updated version online.
We can have this back up really quickly within a matter of seconds, he said. But it depends on how fast we can approve a vendor and go through the motions.
As for when the new JoeyTracker will come online, Galvez said there was no official date.
This is happening in the middle of the year, so its not a planned event, he said. We want to find out what the next steps are to get it rolling. We want the program up and accessible to students as soon as possible.
