tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124539381685751273.post706426539925819545..comments2023-06-19T04:35:06.263-07:00Comments on Skeptic's Play: Buses and equilibriamillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05990852054891771988noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124539381685751273.post-10577492770617268692009-04-25T20:02:00.000-07:002009-04-25T20:02:00.000-07:00Lovely stuff. Yet again I managed to only see half...Lovely stuff. Yet again I managed to only see half of the problem. I had previously arrived at the same conclusions (and for the same reasons) as you about why a bus will usually be late, and why the next bus is often right behind it. I had failed to see that being early would cause it to "speed up".<br /><br />However, for the last 15 yrs or so, the buses in my city have had "timed stops" every few stops where, if the bus is early, it waits until the correct time before moving off. Also, the free buses in the CBD (like the trains) have talking stops that tell you how many minutes before the next one arrives.<br /><br />I'm just waiting for GoogleBus (TM) to be available on the iPhone so that I will know at what time I need to leave my house to catch a bus...Secret Squïrrelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124539381685751273.post-66520053634622961002009-04-25T09:09:00.000-07:002009-04-25T09:09:00.000-07:00I just found out that I'm not the first person to ...I just found out that I'm not the first person to think of this. There's even a book called <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Why-Do-Buses-Come-Threes/dp/0471379077" REL="nofollow">Why do Buses Come in Threes?</A> (After the first two buses group together, they sometimes slow down, allowing a third bus to catch up.) I'm being preemptively plagiarized.millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05990852054891771988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124539381685751273.post-89112943659937354772009-04-24T05:53:00.000-07:002009-04-24T05:53:00.000-07:00This analysis is really brilliant. Nicely done.This analysis is really brilliant. Nicely done.Jeffrey Ellishttp://jeffreyellis.org/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124539381685751273.post-68522637908523079322009-04-23T20:32:00.000-07:002009-04-23T20:32:00.000-07:00I work in a tall building with 6 elevators, and as...I work in a tall building with 6 elevators, and as most people there know, when a quite full elevator stops for you, if you have many floors to go, it usually is faster to wait for the next one. Unless the first one is full because several others are out of service. Now I will try to think of a non-transportation related example with similar phenomena.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com