The Missing Piece of Information

When you’re waiting for a bus, time slows down.  People perceive, (according to some study) that it takes 1.35 times longer for the bus to arrive than it actually does – or something on that order. 
It can be stressful.  Let’s say you have a choice: wait for a bus or walk to your destination.  The bus will be faster (or dryer), but only if it arrives in the next few minutes.  So you have to do a risk assessment: wait or walk. 
If you walk, you know what will likely happen: the bus will show up, but you’re probably between stops so you miss it.  If you wait,  well, time slows down so it seems like it would have been faster to walk.  And that’s why you’re pissed off, no matter what you do, and another reason why people prefer to drive.
What you needed to know was simple but unavailable: how long until  the next bus shows up.
Now, at last, a solution – at least for those with cell phones:

Here is how it works:

1. locate the 5 digit unique bus stop number, in yellow, in the upper right hand corner of all bus stops (or look on the TransLink website)
2. text the five digit bus stop number to 33333 from your cell phone
3. receive the times and route numbers for the next six buses at that stop

If you just want times for a particular route, text the 5 digit stop number followed by the route number with a space in-between and you will be sent the next six times that route will stop at that location.

Even better would be a GIS system and a readout at the bus stop itself – real time info at a glance.  You can go to the TransLink website to try to find the number of your closest stop here – but it didn’t work for me.  Not even “Georgia and Gilford Streets.”  And Google Transit doesn’t have the stop numbers on its site.
That’s the transit challenge in this world of instant information: everything has to work all the time for every individual’s needs.  And because the single-occupant vehicle seems to do so, it’s generally the first choice. 
But transit is catching up.