PLACE RIEL — While getting around town can cause headaches for students, University of Saskatchewan urban planning student Sam Bruce and computer science major Ali Williamson have teamed up to develop an app that will combat the problem head on.

“Essentially, the app uses GPS tracking to determine how close bus drivers are to striking at any given moment, ensuring that students are always fully in the know,” Williamson explained.

For U of S students, such an app will prevent many a confusing moment.

“When talking with students about how they feel about Saskatoon Transit, a complaint we commonly heard was, ‘My buses never seem to strike at the time they’re scheduled to,’” Bruce explained. “They also say, ‘Many drivers seem to think striking earlier is somehow more convenient than striking on time, when really they should just stick to their schedules and strike at the time we’re expecting them to.’ The bottom line is that students want a better idea of when the strike will actually arrive.”

Early student response seems to be very enthusiastic.

“It’s great,” said third-year kinesiology major Jordan Haden. “I usually never trust the bus strikes to be on time — but now I don’t even need to!”

Although the app is only of relevance to Saskatoon residents, it has nonetheless already reached an impressive number three on the iTunes Canada App Store charts.