A great new map tool, CaBi Tracker, shows which Capital Bikeshare stations are full or empty in a very easy to visualize way:

You can also click on a station to see numbers and get a graph showing how empty or full the station has been over time.

This shows the power of open data: from the start, CaBi has offered an XML feed of their current usage, and people have responded by creating all kinds of interesting tools.

Other Web tools include Oliver O’Brien’s, which shows current availability and will animate the last 24 hours to show how stations have gotten full and empty over time.

Depletion reports from Codeline Telemetry show which stations were empty or full yesterday or today, and for how long, with interesting graphs and a map.

Of course, there’s the official CaBi map, which also shows dock status when you click on a station. It’s important for CaBi to have this map for those who don’t know about the others, but these tools also illustrate how when an organization releases information in open formats, many people find creative ways to visualize and analyze it that go beyond the resources of the operator itself.

For iPhone, Android, and Blackberry, there’s Spotcycle, which includes real-time information and bike paths, though at least on my phone it also has the annoying habit of always zooming in on Hains Point every time I load it up even though there are (sadly) no stations there.

iPhone users can also use Bixou, which iPhone-using contributors tell me is better at refreshing data and more stable.

What other Web, mobile, or other tools are out there? I’ll update this post to include them.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.