SMS

You can access NextBus prediction via a cell phone or a PDA by sending an SMS text message. The arrival predictions for you bus will then be texted back to you. You can even have the system alert you when your bus is a specified number of minutes away.

Please note: some cell phone service plans charge you for each text message. Also, this service is unfortunately not available in Canada at this time.

Syntax

The 5-digit text message address is 41411. The syntax of the message is "nbus agency stop" such as "nbus sf 7th & Folsom" or "nbus emery 5300".

The keyword "nbus" specifies that you want information from NextBus. For some agencies there is shortcut. For example, instead of specifying "nbus agency" for San Francisco Muni you can specify "nextmuni". The agency name is a short abreviation for the agency. For San Francisco Muni for example it is "nbus sf-muni". For some agencies there are alternative names. For example, you can substitute "sf" for "sf-muni".

What is the "Subscribed to" message?

When you send your first message to the NextBus system you will receive a reply indicating that you have subscribed to the system. This only means that you have subscribed to the possibility of the using the alert feature described below. The NextBus system will never send you other messages besides the arrival prediction information you have specifically requested.

Specifying a stop

There are four ways to specify your stop.

1. Via Menus
   If you do not specify a stop (you simply specify a message such as "nbus emery") then you will be presented with a list of routes. You then specify which route you are interested in. You will then be presented with a list of directions and then a list of stops to select from. Once you have selected your stop, the corresponding predictions for that stop will be displayed. Note: this menu based way of selecting a stop is only intended for smaller agencies. For larger agencies there are most likely too many routes and stops to choose from easily, considering that SMS messages are limited to a small number of characters. For larger agencies we recommend that you specify a stop number or an address.
   
   
2. Specifying a Stop Number:
   For some agencies each stop is identified by a stop number. If stop identifiers are available they are listed when the predictions are displayed on the main web page, as shown in the figure to the right. If your stop has a numeric stop id then you can simply use that id to obtain your arrival predictions. For example, if you want information for Emery-go-Round stop 5322 send to the address 41411 the text "nbus emery 5322". If numeric stop identifiers are not available for your transit agency then you must specify an address as described below.
   
   
3. Specifying an Address:
   You can also enter an address or an intersection and predictions for the stops nearest the intersection. This is especially handy if you do not know the stop id or if stop ids have not been assigned for your agency. Only addresses and intersections can be used. Unfortunately you cannot specify many landmarks such as "city hall". Some landmarks work but others do not.
   
   So for example you can enter "nbus muni 7th&folsom" or "nbus muni 1351 Folsom". Because predictions for several routes can be returned, the resulting text is very terse and vowels are removed so that the resulting information can be provided in a single text message. If you get back the message "Sorry, but your location is no specific enough to locate a stop." or "Sorry, could not process request" it might be because you need to differentiate between an Avenue and a Street or between a street and a name of a neighborhood. So if you have trouble you might want to use something like "7th st & Folsom Ave" to be more specific.
   
   You can receive predictions for all routes that serve the nearby stops, but predictions for only a single route/stop will be shown at a time. If multiple routes serve your stop you will be texted back a list of routes to choose from. Reply with the number identifying the route and you will get predictions for both directions for that route. Note: the system will give you a choice such as "2) 19-Polk". To select this route you should reply with "2", not the number 19.
   
   If you know you only want predictions for a particular route you can specify the route name following the letter "r". For example, to get the predictions just for the route 19 buses at 7th & Folsom you would send to the address 41411 the text "nbus muni r19 7th & folsom".
   
   
4. Using a saved stop:
   Once you have selected a stop using one of the above methods, you can save the stop by replying with the command "s stopName", where "stopName" is the name of the stop you want to save. So for example you can specify "s work" to store a stop called "work". Then you can easily obtain predicted arrival times for the stop by texting the stop name. For example, if you stored the stop called "work", then you can easily access predictions for that stop simply by texting to 41411 "nbus work".
   

Setting up an alert for when bus is specified number of minutes away

An incredibly useful feature of the NextBus SMS system is that it can automatically send you an alert when your bus is a specified number of minutes away. This way you don't have to continually monitor the NextBus system to determine when it is time to catch your bus. To use this feature first select a stop using one of the three methods described above. Once you have selected a stop and predictions are displayed you can simply reply to the prediction message with the number of minutes of notice you want before your bus is going to arrive. You can specify an alert time of betwee 0 and 30 minutes. So for example you can first select a stop by sending to 41411 the message "emerybus 5300". Then reply with "5" to be alerted when your bus is 5 minutes away.

Useful commands

You can specify single letter commands.

• "h" or "?" for help
• "r" for refresh (updates the predictions)
• "b" for going back to list of routes when there are several routes that serve your stop.
• "s stopName" for saving a stop for easy retrieval
• "1"-"30" for sending an alert when bus is the specified number of minutes away

Why the terse abreviations?

SMS is limited to just a few characters per message. Therefore the system uses abreviated names to tell you the names of routes, directions, and stops.

Determining your agency name and stop numbers

You can determine the proper agency name using the following table. For some agencies there are multiple names that will work. For example, for San Francisco Muni you can use "sf-muni" or "sf".