Auburn University students no longer have an excuse for being late to class thanks to new technology being utilized by the university’s Tiger Transit bus system. Known as the Transit Visualization System, the technology allows students to view the buses in motion and the routes in real time on a detailed map displayed on the Internet or a Web-enabled cellular phone.

“It keeps students from having to stand out in the rain or wait for the bus in bad weather,” said Rex Huffman, manager of transit services at AU. “It also assists management with seeing where the buses are and how the drivers are operating on their routes.” Each of the 41 Tiger Transit buses is outfitted with a Global Positioning System unit that relays its location to a central server. The server then transmits the location to a map on the Internet or cell phone, all in three to five seconds time. MORE