The USF Travel Options App aims to assist students, staff, and visitors with navigation around the University of South Florida campus by providing real-time information on various transportation modes such as driving, biking, and public transit. Funded initially by the USF Student Green Energy Fund, the app features functionalities like locating buildings, bike share availability, and routing based on campus infrastructure. Developed by the Center for Urban Transportation Research, the app is open-source and can be adapted for use at different university campuses.

1. Center for Urban Transportation Research | University of South Florida
USF Travel Options App
Sean J. Barbeau, Ph.D.
National Center for Transit Research

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Background
• USF students have many travel options:
– Drive
– USF Bull Runner
– Hillsborough Area Regional Transit
– Bike
– Bike share (starting Fall 2015)
– Walk
• For those unfamiliar with campus (and even those
that are), the best option for each trip isn’t obvious

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Background (Con’t)
• Transit and bike share modes also have a real-
time component
• Knowing where USF buildings are, and how to
get from A to B, is challenging
– Requires translating 3 letter abbreviation into
building name and location
• How can we make getting around USF campus
easier for students, staff, and visitors?

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USF Student Green Energy Fund
(SGEF)
• Initially funded two student-driven projects:
– Smart Parking
– Bike share
• USF Travel Options App was created to share
information on all modes with
students/staff/visitors
• SGEF Council voted to stop Smart Parking project in
late 2014
• Bike share project continues and is planned to
launch in Fall 2015

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Center for Urban Transportation
Research (CUTR) @ USF
• CUTR initially donated Dr. Barbeau’s (and Sara
Hendricks) time to supervise students
• FDOT is current sponsoring Dr. Barbeau’s time
to supervise students developing mobile app

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USF Travel Options App
DesktopMobile
Beta version at
http://mobullity.forest.usf.edu/index.html

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Find USF buildings by abbreviation
Abbreviation
Building
location

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Routes use actual USF walk/bike
infrastructure
Distance/time
summary
Uses crosswalk

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Bike lanes at USF
Visible as a highlighted layer, in addition to being used for routing

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Bike share – Real-time info, booking
links for station areas

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Bike share – trip plans consider real-
time availability

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Real-time Bull Runner positions
Bus
locations

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And more features
• Walking paths that avoid stairs
– Useful for those with limited mobility (e.g., in
wheelchairs)
• Bike paths that prefer bike lanes
• Transfer from Bull Runner to HART buses
– Students ride free on HART
• All open-source software – can add new features in
the future
• Can deploy at multiple university sites
– e.g., Different USF campuses

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Thanks!
Sean J. Barbeau, Ph.D.
barbeau@cutr.usf.edu
813.974.7208
Principal Mobile Software Architect for R&D
Center for Urban Transportation Research
University of South Florida
http://www.linkedin.com/in/seanbarbeau
Protected under U.S. patents #8138907, 8169342
Funded by the National Center for Transit Research and
Florida Department of Transportation