Staying connected ... onboard

The trip takes 50 minutes. That’s 50 minutes for sleeping, 50 minutes for chatting, 50 minutes for reading, 50 minutes for worrying, 50 minutes for watching Port Elizabeth pass by …

From tomorrow – Friday 22 August – however, passengers will be able to add 50 minutes of free Wi-Fi into the mix.

That’s as it’s going to be for Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) students who use the Blunden bus service from our Missionvale Campus to our Second, North and South campuses in Summerstrand and back again. That’s 50 minutes plus 50 minutes each day – time that can now be spent productively (or unproductively) online.

NMMU students Jamie Wilke (left) and Simone Brewis use the free Wi-Fi on Blunden Buses with owner Shaun Blunden

In a first for Port Elizabeth, Blunden Buses is going to give its passenger free access to Wi-Fi, starting with a pilot project on the 60-seater bus they use to transport our students across the city.

“We want to add value to our passengers. Who uses Wi-Fi the most? Students. That’s why we’re starting with them,” says company owner Shaun Blunden.

NMMU already offers free Wi-Fi on all its campuses.

Once the month-long pilot project is completed, all 76 buses in the Blunden fleet will offer free Wi-Fi.

This will include the 18 buses (from 22 to 60-seater vehicles) that service NMMU students across the city from 6.30am to 10pm daily.

“I can’t wait to see the students’ faces tomorrow morning,” says Shaun, whose company’s involvement with the university started with two buses in 2006.

Next year, the family business plans to launch a mobile app that will enable students to establish the whereabouts of each of its campus-to-campus hopper buses.

  

A first for PE - free Wi-Fi on Blunden's buses