Riders at the bus stop now don't have to wait and wonder where the bus is and when it's coming. Each Utah State University bus is now tracked by GPS and can be seen as little arrows darting around a town map at http://aggiebus.com

"This system is a wonderful addition for the university," said USU alumnus Justin Rees, who developed the technology. "It is designed to fit the needs of the university students and anybody who rides the bus on a regular basis."

The Web site shows the shuttles' real-time locations using the vehicle number, heading or speed. The university said it's already popular among students even though it's only been in use a short time.

Web-enabled phones will be able to access the map this fall, and there are plans to include shuttle locations by text message and installing map-display monitors near the bus stops.

"The whole key with GPS to make it worth the investment is to get people to use it," Rees said.

Rees developed the system when he was in charge of making Aggie Shuttles simpler for drivers and passengers. He found that drivers would use a pen and paper to count passengers and would record daily bus maintenance checks by hand.

"I found it was really inefficient, and it took forever," Rees said. "You had to gather all the paper and figure out what they'd written then re-enter it back in the computer."

He came up with the idea of having the drivers use Web-connected smart phones to keep track of the information. The phones also have GPS capability, and naturally he decided to use them for tracking in the fall 2007.

Many buses mount GPS equipment on the buses, which can be expensive, he said. Rees is patenting his approach using phones and has formed a company, Ride Systems, to market it.

The University of Utah has followed suit and installed the Ride Systems GPS units in its 30-bus fleet, and Rees said several other agencies are in discussions about using it.