Category: Advanced Cyber/IO

Public transit goes on-demand in Helsinki

By Tyler Falk | October 17, 2013

Sure, there are many cities around the world where you can hail a taxi or hitch a ride in a private car using a smartphone with apps like Uber and Lyft.

But Helsinki is taking that idea to the next level with on-demand public transit.

The capital city of Finland has an on-demand minibus service run by the city’s transit agency. Kutsuplus, as the service is called, lets you choose where you want to be picked up by the bus and if you want a private trip (like using Uber) or a shared ride. If you decide to share a ride, an algorithm will determine the best route for getting you to your destination and picking up others, but you’re only charged as if you’re the only passenger. The minibuses can accommodate up to nine passengers.

The cost of the service is 3.50 euros, plus 0.60 euros per kilometer. That’s more than a bus but less than a taxi, but as Wired points out, the point of it isn’t to replace either form of transit.

Despite its on-demand nature, Kutsuplus isn’t designed to put cabs out of business. Rather, it’s supposed to make it easier for motorists to switch to public transit. According to Kari Rissanen, a Program Director at the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority, Kutsuplus makes transit more attractive for those whose commutes would require multiple changes of buses or trains.

Kutsuplus is currently running as a pilot program with 10 minibuses. According to Wired, the could soon grow to 100.

Need motivation? There's an app for that

WASHINGTON (AP) – Ever suspect you do more housework than your spouse? Or that certain tasks at work raise your blood pressure? Maybe you wonder why you're sneezing more lately, or if carbs are really what is making you tired after lunch?

Turns out, there's an app or gadget to test all of that. Advancements in wearable body sensors, mobile applications and other gadgets mean that nearly everything we do can be captured, logged and analyzed. And everyday consumers are jumping at the chance to conduct their own experiments – tracking sleep, caffeine intake, kids' studying habits, household chores, even whether a baby is nursing more frequently on Mom's left breast versus her right.

“I don't know if I'd use the word ‘obsessed,'” said Ernesto Ramirez, a self-tracking devotee who helped to organize a two-day conference on the subject last week in San Francisco. Speakers at past “Quantified Self” conferences have included a man who developed his own app to see if he could walk every street in Manhattan and a dad who used trackers on his kids to monitor chores.

“I think there's an overall trend toward curiosity and proving knowledge of one's self in the world,” Ramirez said.

Read full article.

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