San Francisco Muni’s ‘Connected Bus’ provides WiFi for riders

It’s been a long time coming, and riders of San Francisco’s ‘Connected Bus’ will finally have WiFi service during their journey around the city. People will never have to stop looking at their computer screen again.

Although the name isn’t very clever, the bus itself certainly is. Besides the free WiFi access, it also has touchscreen maps on the walls with live transit information.

“This is a smart bus in every way, shape and form,” said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. “You can download music, you can play video games. It’s a bus where you are connected. It’s constantly generating information about your connection to the rest of the Muni system.”

However, some riders are not happy with the new bus. Instead, they’d prefer buses that run on time, better drivers, graffiti removal, and more comfortable seats.

We think the idea is good, but mostly unnecessary. Many people already spend too much time starting at a computer, and this bus won’t help that at all. It would probably be a much better idea to improve the bus system by spending the money in other places. However, constant WiFi access is the future and this is one small step there.
Photo: Chronicle/Michael Macor