Why Bus Wifi is Worth the Investment

Although public buses are not as important today as they have been in the past, they are still vital to a functioning society. Every major city relies on the use of public transit to more effectively move people around the city, without clogging the road with too many single-passenger cars.

It’s better for the environment, and it allows people to live without the expense of owning a car. Even if they do own a car, leaving it home most days will still save money.

But to convince more people to use the bus, operators should install bus wifi. Adding wireless internet to public buses could be what your city needs to convince more people to ride the bus on a regular basis.

Why is it such a good idea? Keep reading below to see if you should invest in a wireless connection on your bus fleet below.

Why We Need More People Riding City Buses

Every city, large and small, would benefit from having fewer people drive their personal vehicles and more people riding a shared bus. But why?

As mentioned earlier, fewer people driving their vehicles to work, to the gym, and to the store, means fewer cars on the road. That means less traffic, and it makes the roads more efficient for everyone.

This is especially helpful during rush hour when everyone is heading to work, and heading home at the same time each day. Don’t like sitting in traffic? Buses are part of the solution.

Having fewer cars on the roads of our city streets and neighborhoods also means less pollution released into the air. This can improve air quality, making it more enjoyable to walk around town and recreate outside.

And using buses more means that people can save money on transportation costs. So rather than wasting hundreds of dollars each month on gas and parking, they can spend that money on local businesses and stimulate the economy.

And with more people riding buses each day, the bus system can expand its operations to become more efficient. That might mean more routes so that there’s less walking. And it might mean more buses, so there’s less waiting. And so a cycle begins that makes things better for people, the city, and the bus system.

Using Bus Wifi to Get More People Onboard

So the benefits of people riding the bus are clear. But how do you convince people to get on the bus and leave their big SUVs at home?

One way to do this is by installing wifi on public buses. When most people drive to work, they aren’t able to do anything productive. All they can do is pay attention to the road. They can’t be reading, responding to emails, or doing other tasks.

So their commute is wasted time. But if they rode a bus with public wifi, that time can become productive. If people bring their tablets or computers, they can actually get work done while they commute to work.

So maybe, instead of wasting that hour every day commuting to and from work, people can work on the bus, and shorten the number of hours spent at the office each day, since they are still putting in the same amount of time.

If your employer won’t allow for that flexibility, however, then wifi on the bus can enable you to work on your side hustle while you commute to and from work. Either way, you are taking the time that would otherwise be wasted, and you are putting it to good use.

Other ways to make bus travel more attractive may mean installing more comfortable seats. Maybe fold-up tray tables, such as those found on airplanes, would help too.

Don’t Forget About the School Bus

School buses are also the lifeblood of our local communities. While fewer children ride the school bus these days, they are still responsible for transporting as many as half of a school’s students to and from the campus.

Whether children are riding the bus, or riding in their parent’s vehicle, the time spent commuting to school is normally wasted, just like an adult’s commute.

But if children rode on a bus with wifi when going to school, they could potentially reclaim this time and continue their learning. Since many students have tablets or computers, time on the bus might mean getting a headstart on their homework. Or it might mean watching videos that support the content they are learning in class.

With wifi on a school bus, parents might be more inclined to send their kids on the bus, since that time no longer needs to be wasted.

But the benefits of wifi on school buses don’t stop there. There are additional applications that benefit parents as well.

Having wifi onboard means that it’s easy to track the location of the school bus. Just like a pizza delivery app, or Amazon package delivery app, you can always see exactly where your child is since the bus’s location is tracked.

This helps to alleviate the fears that many parents might have, that their child might not be safe on the bus. But in fact, a child is much safer on a bus than in a passenger vehicle.

And with children using media devices on board, either to collaborate on homework or work assignments or to play games, behavior onboard the bus is noticeably improved compared to buses that don’t have wifi installed.

Should Your Fleet Make the Upgrade

When more people ride the bus, the benefits multiply. More people on board, whether it’s a school bus or a city bus, means that the fleet will make more money. Obviously, some of this additional income will need to go towards paying for wifi service.

But with so many public and private benefits to getting more people to ride the bus, it’s almost always worth the expense. Plus, the expense can often be offset through various programs and incentives offered by the city or school board.

Moving Public Transportation Forward

While bus wifi isn’t brand new, it’s just now starting to see a surge in the application. If we want more people to use public transportation, then buses, along with trains and subways, need to modernize and equip themselves for life in the 21st century. And at the baseline, that means fast, reliable wifi.

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