When Metro and Sound Transit’s wi-fi pilot was first announced, I was one happy bus chick. I fantasized about using it all the time–to leave work early (Why work in the office when you can work on your way home from the office?), to IM with girlfriends in different time zones, to check Tracker for the routes I planned to transfer to. In reality, I’ve used it successfully twice: once on the 545 and once on the 48. I was so excited, I didn’t do anything useful–just sent lots of e-mail with the subject line, “I’m on the bus!” Most of the time, I can’t even get it to work. I can get on the network (or so my laptop says), but I can’t get an IP address. (That’s nerdspeak for, “I can’t get on the Internets.”)

Are you using wi-fi on buses? If so, what are you using it for? Have you had any “technical difficulties”?

On a related note: Whether you are using bus wireless or not, what do you think of the concept? I, for one, am a bit worried that I feel the need to check e-mail during my commute. My youngest brother’s girlfriend just got her master’s in psychology. She might call Metro an “enabler.”