The Atlanta Algorithm

As with many other cities in the US, Atlanta has a public transportation network (known as MARTA), which is a joke. In fact, the metro is ok. But my issue is with the buses. Unfortunately, most of Atlanta is not also walkable. Lack of proper sidewalks in the residential neighborhoods. Life in Europe has taught us that it is not necessary to drive, and it is ok to use the public transport. :D Given this state, we choose to live close to my university. 20 minutes by walk.

There is also a bus stop close to both my apartment and my lab. A bus (#6) passes by every 30 minutes, connecting my home to my lab in the university. I usually walk to my lab, and return, by foot. But since I have a free monthly public transportation pass from the university, I decided to use it.

"MARTA On the Go" a mobile app offers a real-time schedule of the bus, unlike Google maps which shows a static schedule. Today I checked the bus time just before leaving home. The bus was on its way. It said "6 minutes late" with the current location. MARTA On the Go does not show the estimated arrival time at each stop with this dynamic information. Rather, it shows the current location of the bus (that means, you should have an idea of the road map, or you need to use it in conjunction with another application such as Google maps) and the current delay. While this app does not solve the inefficiency of the public transport, it certainly mitigates the uncertainty and help plan the timing better.

Before leaving home, I check the app to confirm the arrival time of the bus. However, the timing is not accurate. The bus usually comes with a time interval [-3:5], that means 3 minutes earlier to 5 minutes later. But now for the third time in a row, the bus came 10 minutes late. To ensure I do not miss the bus, I always arrive 3 - 4 minutes earlier. Therefore, I leave home 7 minutes earlier than the bus' arrival time at the bus stop (since I need to walk a bit to reach the bus stop).

Sometimes a bus appears without showing in the app. Sometimes the bus shows in the app in the opposite direction. Sometimes a bus shows up in the app, but it is in fact out of order. So the app is useful. But not complete.

Every city's public transportation system teaches me some new life lesson. I learned something in Jeju. Now in Atlanta. I like these life lessons - I do not underestimate them. Trust yourself, instead of trusting an unreliable external entity!