O'ahu bus riders have a new tool to help ease their commute, as the back-to-school season continues with private schools and universities opening classes over the next three weeks.

Oahu Transit Services, which operates TheBus, yesterday launched a bus-locator Web site called TheBus-HEA, which stands for Honolulu Estimated Arrival.

HEA will allow bus users to punch in their stop and find out what time the next bus is arriving. It tracks Global Positioning System devices on each bus and updates every two minutes with a bus' estimated arrival time at a particular stop within two minutes. If real-time arrival data is not available, HEA will show the scheduled time of the route.

The Web address is http://hea.thebus.org.

Oahu Transit Services tested the site for four months.

Users provided online feedback and their reviews were overwhelmingly positive, said Jon Nouchi, director of the OTS Planning and Services Department.

At a news conference yesterday, Mayor Mufi Hannemann and other city officials also said TheBus has added 10 extra-long "articulated" buses and several new bus stops to encourage ridership.

Hannemann also encouraged motorists to plan their trips ahead of time, leaving earlier and checking the FastCheck traffic cameras at www.co.honolulu.hi.us/cameraszfastcheck.htm.

He also said the city will monitor and adjust traffic signal timing, provide information and support to the Freeway Service Patrol and limit street closures during peak commuting hours.

The mayor encouraged use of Vanpool Hawaii and its sister program, Cool Pool, at www.vanpoolhawaii.com.

"At the end of the day it really is going to take the John Q. Public stepping up to the plate and doing their part," said Hannemann.

"The bottom line is we want to increase participation in our integrated multi-modal system and decrease the number of vehicles and personal trucks and vans on the road."