Crowdsourced buses in Singapore, what would Oskar Lange say?

Crowdsourcing of buses will begin this summer, with transport rerouted according to data amassed from commuters’ smart cards. Unlike many similar cards elsewhere, these are tapped on boarding and alighting from buses, providing a fuller picture.

Based on this data, plus passenger feedback, routes will be retraced with fewer stops and — courtesy of expressways — shorter times

Ultimately, the plan is to build into crowdsourcing on demand, where passengers use smartphones to tell buses their locations and, depending on volume, can expect be picked up accordingly.

“Economics is the question at the end of the day,” says Mr Liu. “Will people be willing to pay a bit more for this convenience and direct service? So will it make commercial sense?”

That is from Louise Lucas at the FT.