Albuquerque Mayor R.J. Berry and UNM President Robert Frank during announcement of Where's My Bus?


The University of New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque are working together to share ways to collaborate on technology and data sharing. Albuquerque Mayor R.J. Berry and UNM President Robert Frank announced the effort in a joint news conference at the UNM Student Union Building recently.

An application written by the UNM IT Applications Web team should be of special interest to students, staff and faculty who utilize ABQ Ride.

The application, called "Where's My Bus?," is available free via UNM's LoboMobile application LoboMobile.

Anyone can access the application on desktop web by navigating to WMB. WMB is the abbreviation for "Where's My Bus?  The applications show City buses on a Google map as they travel their routes at near-real time.

UNM's Parking and Transportation Services will pilot provide near-real information for select UNM shuttle routes through "Where's My Bus?" beginning in August and continuing through December. The pilot will involve 10 shuttle buses equipped with GPS technology courtesy of ABQRide.

"We are excited to partner with ABQRide and pilot this service for our students, staff and faculty who use our campus shuttles," said Karla Hubbell, PATS director.  "This pilot will allow us to evaluate how this technology can help customers maximize their time on campus."

PATS will provide updated information on the shuttle routes that will participate in the pilot prior to making the service available in August.

Berry also used the occasion to announce a competition, which includes a $30,000 prize, to use public data to build applications to serve the Albuquerque community and save taxpayer money by using technology to provide a service.

For more information, visit: Open Data. For additional competition details, visit: Apps Competition.

Frank urged the good minds within the campus community to participate in developing mobile apps using open data for students, faculty and staff. The new ‘Where's My Bus?' application is an example that helps UNM more efficiently use public transportation and is available on the web and mobile devices.

UNM's collaboration with the City of Albuquerque was originally announced in February of 2012. The intention is to share expensive technical infrastructure and public information to connect community, share information, and enhance the effectiveness of people and businesses in the wider, public community.

Media contact: Danielle Gilliam, (505) 277-0461; email: dgilliam@unm.edu