Bus riders in Adelaide will be given the option to surf the Internet during their trip with the launch of a free Wi-Fi trial.
The i-Commute trial is being deployed by a group of organisations, including Adam Internet, UniSA, MIMP, Cisco, WebShield and TransSpot, and aims to lure more people into using public transport.
i-Commute uses the locally-developed Podmo platform that allows commuters to use their phone or Wi-Fi enabled device to browse the Web, download and play games, chat, and use other Internet applications.
The development is another wireless win for Adelaide, which is getting a new WiMax network to fill broadband blackspots.
In its role as the i-Commute mobile platform partner, Podmo has provided a free-to-access mobile network for Adelaide buses.
Podmo CEO, Che Metcalfe, said being able to access Internet applications for free makes morning and evening commutes “more useful and a lot more fun”.
“We’re not just helping reduce the commuter’s carbon foot-print, we’re helping reduce traffic accidents and fines. A lot of people try to use their mobiles while driving - even texting and driving at the same time is not uncommon," Metcalfe said.
The Podmo mobile application allows people to download mobile content to a phone without paying for data as it is transferred over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
“Once connected to the network users can download all forms of content, browse pages, read the news and weather or communicate with each other via text or voice,” Metcalfe said.