Here’s an innovation in bus usage that’s so smart we’re not sure it can even work: Helsinki’s Kutsuplus lets you select your pick-up and drop-off locations and times, using a phone app, and then sends out a bus to take you exactly where you need to go.

You don’t get the bus to yourself, of course; Kutsuplus cleverly bundles you with other people going the same way. But it beats standing on a street corner forever waiting for a bus that will take a roundabout route to your destination. And while it’s a little more expensive than a standard bus ride — the equivalent of about $5 base price plus $2 per two miles, while most bus rides would be $2.75-$5.50 — it’s still significantly cheaper than a taxi.

via Helsinki’s personalized bus service is like Uber for public transit | Grist.

Yesssssssss.

For more information, see this paper (not so technical).