TriMet has been lauded for its open data policies which allow folks to do some amazing things with their data. It’s just that sometimes getting to the data you need requires a little digging. But when you find that right chunk of data? Boy howdy. Things like PDX Live Bus are born. Read More
Google likes it some Portland. Apparently we have a test market that they like. And as such, they tend to test drive products here before they try them anywhere else.
Well, and this time, it doesn’t hurt that we’re home to one of the leading resources for open transit data. That’s why Google and TriMet have teamed up to provide real-time updates on transit via Google Maps. Read More
Anyone who has ridden public transportation knows the frustration of missing a bus or waiting for a train that is never going to come. Portland public transit, for all the lauding it receives, is no different.
That’s why Matt King, the prolific Portland-based master of the making APIs do cool and useful things, has released a new application for the iPhone to help Portland folks get the TriMet public transit info they need in a format that is actually legible on an iPhone screen.
So I present to to you the Trimet Tracker, an iPhone app that allows you to easily find out when the next bus is going to arrive at your stop. Just enter your Stop ID and you’ll get a list of all the arriving buses (or MAX or Street Car), what time they will be showing up, and how long you have to wait. If you don’t know your Stop ID, you can also do a quick search by picking a route and selecting from all the stops on that route.
To make it even easier, you can also save any stop to your favorites list so you don’t have to enter a Stop ID or search for your stop again. Just hit ‘Favorites’ and select which stop you saved.
The most interesting part about this whole story? It’s written off of a TriMet API. Who knew TriMet even had an API?
Don’t have an iPhone? Don’t ride public transit in Portland? Getting tired of me asking questions? Have no fear. You can still use some of Matt’s other tools, like TwitterWhere, KnitMap, and Unthirsty. (At the time of publishing, Unthirsty was down for maintenance.) (It’s back up.)
For more information, see Matt King’s post on Trimet Tracker.
