@inproceedings{b42e53618356478c844d17746861d3ab,
title = "Building a transportation information system using only GPS and basic SMS infrastructure",
abstract = "This work consists of two main components: (a) a longitudinal ethnographic study in Kyrgyzstan that demonstrates the importance of transportation resources in the developing world and how to plan for an appropriate ICT solution, and (b) the results of a proof-of-concept system engineered to create a bottom-up, transportation information infrastructure using only GPS and SMS. Transportation is a very important shared resource; enabling efficient and effective use of such resources aids overall development goals. The system, *bus, involved the development of a hardware device (a *box) containing a GSM modem and a GPS unit, that can be installed on a vehicle and used to track its location. The *box communicates via SMS with a server connected to a basic GSM phone. The server runs route a prediction algorithm and users can send SMS messages to the server to find when a bus will arrive at their location. The paper discusses the system and early testing, as well as the development implications for a range of urban and rural environments where transportation is scarce or inefficient, and where a central authority or institution is not in a position to provide robust information resources for users. We describe how the solution is also situated within technology usage patterns common to the developing world.",
keywords = "Developing world, GPS, ICTD, Information services, Kyrgyzstan, Mobile phones, SMS, Transportation",
author = "Anderson, {Ruth E.} and Anthony Poon and Caitlin Lustig and Waylon Brunette and Gaetano Borriello and Kolko, {Beth E.}",
year = "2009",
doi = "10.1109/ICTD.2009.5426678",
language = "English (US)",
isbn = "9781424446636",
series = "2009 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, ICTD 2009 - Proceedings",
pages = "233--242",
booktitle = "2009 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, ICTD 2009 - Proceedings",
note = "2009 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, ICTD 2009 ; Conference date: 17-04-2009 Through 19-04-2009",
}