The NBus application designed by two Garin College students is now available for purchase on the Apple App Store.
The application, which could soon feature on Android and other smart phone devices, will give NBus customers access to full timetables and calculate fare costs at the their fingertips.
Nelson City Council is smallest council inNew Zealandto have an application that aligns with its transport system. There are similar programmes inAucklandandWellington.
NCC web developer Dan Richardson, who oversaw the project, says he is pleased with 15 year old students Callum McMenamin and Jack Green Hill’s final product. “I think they’re really talented guys and they’ve got a bright future ahead of them,” he says. “They came up with the initial idea and we worked together to find out the best way of doing it.”
Dan says it will benefit customers who are “out and about” but need to know when the next bus is scheduled.
Callum and Jack came up with the idea when they were travelling intoNelsonCityon the NBus regularly for work experience atSouth Tecand now Lucid Desgin. The pair noted a “confusing” pricing system that is calculated through four separate zones and decided to do something proactive to help others solve the “funny algorithm”, Callum said last month.
They both had previous experience making iPhone applications.
The two students were sworn to secrecy over the payment received for creating the NBus application but it is believed to be around $1000 – not a bad payday for 60 hours work.
The application is free to download and you can find it by searching NBus on the Apple App Store
