Funny how you take things for granted. I’ve just switched to a new corporate Blackberry phone, and as I had a busy day downtown yesterday my first reaction was to use the phone to look-up the next bus rather than take the car. I don’t know where I first learned about it, but since I arrived in Austin I’ve been using a service called “dadnab” to find out the bus schedule.

It’s simple, painless, and quick. 5-mins before I’m ready to leave I just send a txt message on my phone to austin@dadnab.com with my current location and my destination. Yesterdays txt message read: s 1st and live oak to Austin convention center

Except on this new fanlged, all singing, all dancing phone it wouldn’t take a txt message with an email like address. It turns out that I had send the txt to 121 on the AT&T network, and the first part of the txt message had to include austin@dadnab.com – within 30-seconds I got the response:S 1ST ST & W LIVE OAK ST to AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER/depart SOUTH 1ST & LIVE OAK at 11:54 AM/10-NB/arrive BRAZOS & 4TH at 12:03 PM back as a txt message.

I walked up the street, waited a few minutes and Cap metro arrived as promised. All very quick and efficient. So I figured I’d post this tip here, only to find that Austin metroblogger ttrentham had posted on this topic in time for SXSW in 2007. So here’s an update, the service is still working, if you have problems txting to austin@dadnab.com checkout their website for the tip above and others, also to try out the service.