If you spend any time waiting for a Translink bus in Vancouver, check out TextBus starting on Monday morning. TextBus is a free mobile messaging service that provides public transit users with timely, relevant, and contextual city-wide bus schedule information. Users simply text the 5-digit ID number of their bus stop to the 74636 (QINFO) short code to receive the next 3 arrival times for each bus. The TextBus service is free, although normal carrier charges may apply.
TextBus is a product of local mobile solutions provider Quick Mobile. Their plan is to eventually sell targeted sponsorships of the outgoing TextBus messages. Local, impulse driven businesses interested in reaching out to commuters will be able to target customers based on location and time. Imagine standing in the cold at a bus stop outside a Starbucks and using TextBus to find out that the next bus is 15 minutes away. Minutes later you receive a mobile coupon offering you a 1/2 price latte while you wait. Talk about a super targeted and highly relevant offer.
