ZERBE TOWNSHIP - You won't need smoke signals to keep in touch while "riding with the tribe" on one of Catawese Coach Lines' buses. WiFi internet access is now available as you travel to your destination.
Bill Milbrand, who took over ownership in October, said it was important for the transportation business that formed in 1961 to move into the 21st century.
"We are trying it out on one bus now. If it works good and gains popularity, we will put it on four," said Milbrand. "The system adds a great comfort for our guests who travel with us."
He acknowledges that some older guests may not use the system, but believes it will be especially useful to the business person who wants to keep in touch with the office, and to school students who want to work on school material as they travel to a field trip or sporting event.
Students traveling to Washington D.C. gave the system a shot just two days after it was installed. With the exception of one or two dropped signals, the system worked "pretty good," Milbrand said.
"There were a few spots where we lost the signal. It wasn't because the service went down, but because we went through dead spots like your cell phone would have," he added. "We have plenty of bandwidth to handle anything our guests want to do."
Milbrand turned to Xtreme PC, Shamokin, to outfit the bus with WiFi. Milbrand said the IT company used cellular technology and custom developed hardware to install the economical system, which provides guests with a fast and reliable connection.
Jesse James, co-owner of Xtreme PC, said the current system only allows internet access for the customer, but future revisions are aimed to improve employee communication. CCTV security, the ability for the bus operators to monitor bus movements via GPS technology, and bus to bus and bus to office communication may be added.
In addition to WiFi access, a new state of the art booking and dispatching computer system and new Web site, www.catawese.com, have recently come online.