Bus timetables can now be viewed on mobile phones |04 June 2009
So far available only as printed booklets at SPTC offices, the schedules can now be seen on
The SPTC’s system support manager, Daniel Bamboche, said there are many advantages of being able to access bus timetables from a mobile phone.
“We designed it with clients on the move in mind,” he said.
“It will enable clients to get information, wherever they are, on whether they are late for a bus, for example, and when the next one will come.
“For the moment we have only the schedules available on our WAP website but we will eventually include other features. The WAP website can also be accessed from a normal computer, although it will appear as it does on a mobile phone.”
Mr Bamboche added that changes in schedules and notification of new routes are immediately uploaded since the SPTC manages its own WAP site, which can be accessed at www.sptc.sc/wap
For the moment only Airtel and Cable & Wireless are offering WAP services to their clients.
WAP is an international internet standard specially developed for mobile devices, including iphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other hand-held devices.
This is because a cell phone screen is extremely limited, some as small as 150x150 pixels, while most web content is designed to be displayed on monitors with a minimum resolution of 640x480 pixels. Graphics, which would take a long time to load, are virtually eliminated.
WAP phone content is text-based with very limited graphics and simply arranged for easy navigation with scrolling menus, and so a web page will appear much simpler on your WAP phone than it does on your regular computer.