Comments on What's up with NextBus, part 1: The disappearing app - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by TJ

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:05:20 EDT

I use the Anystop app for Android and it stopped working in December as well.

Comment by McLovin

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 06:51:23 EDT

The Windows Phone app Transit IQ is still working too.

Comment by PM

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:34:01 EDT

Thank you for this. Incredibly useful.

Comment by Farrah

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:10:04 EDT

It's interesting that the Metro rail works, but the bus times no longer work.

Comment by Ben

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 09:10:01 EDT

@Jazzy, you can also use the text system. Text "WMATA [stop number]" to 41411 and it will text you back with a prediction. Works like a charm for me.

I also use the transit screen I set up at Mobility Lab's "Hack Day". My co-workers were so envious that they made me set up ones for different routes...

Comment by John M

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:40:44 EDT

@NextBus Better Sounds like you've never used it...

Comment by MLD

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:35:13 EDT

@C Miller
I use the Android DC Metro Transit and it is still running fine except the tracking for Circulator went down at the end of December. How is that tracking linked to all of this?

I also use this app but have not had any problems. Which route are you looking for info on?

The DC Metro Transit app gets its info from the separate nextbus feeds provided by each agency and the WMATA API. Each of the feeds are separate, that's why you can't see different agencies' buses on the same screen. As far as I know it shouldn't be affected by the same issues as the NextBusDC app.

Comment by NextBus better

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:52:46 EDT

@John M: Transloc?! Are you kidding? That crap never worked for me at Princeton. The predictions suck and the map lies about the bus location. NextBus is far superior. Sorry to break it to you.

Comment by Rich

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:25:48 EDT

Metro's own NextBus actually works pretty well (better than the phone with its poor voice recognition and do-loops), although it's not an "app". I use another GPS-based site for a shuttle service I use at work and it functions a lot less well--the pm rush hour tends to create problems for their estimation algorithms (I've learned that arrival intervals will drop sharply as the shuttle comes closer) and shuttles tend to briefly disappear in the am. I'd imagine most of these systems are a long way from perfection.

Comment by Jazzy

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:03:33 EDT

Like many in the District, I do not use or own a blackberry or iPhone. So I don't have a favorite app. What I do is just check the wmata site before I leave for the next bus. And if I am at a bus stop and didn't check online, I *used* to call up on my cel and say "next bus" and entered in the stop number etc etc...But now it does not recognize the words "next bus." I guess that's what everyone is talking about. So I request an agent. Today when I did that, the agent said she could not get tracking for that bus, but gave me nevertheless the arrival time for a nearby cross section. (I had told her the stop number.)

This is why the best thing to lobby for is reliable arrival times. People doing their jobs correctly. If over 90% of the people are doing their jobs correctly, then the need for apps and so forth diminishes. There is vast room for improvement, but I don't think too many of us are asking for it.

Comment by C Miller

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:50:41 EDT

I use the Android DC Metro Transit and it is still running fine except the tracking for Circulator went down at the end of December. How is that tracking linked to all of this?

BTW The Favorites is my favorite part of the app!

Comment by HogWash

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:57:21 EDT

Nextbus is hit or miss. I counted like 4 phantom 43s one day at Farragut Sq before giving up and catching an S.

Glad to know it's not just me. Imagine me choosing to walk on home..in the rain..only to watch the bus pass me by..ugh

Comment by RC

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:41:44 EDT

standards are great. NYC is a... bit odd... they publish their trains in GTFS-Realtime and their bus predictions in SIRI. Talk about double standards confusing things, but hey, that's a step in the right direction... i hope.

Comment by Alan B.

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:05:54 EDT

Nextbus is hit or miss. Sometimes it works great, but at the end of the lines or in heavy traffic it's kind of useless. I counted like 4 phantom 43s one day at Farragut Sq before giving up and catching an S.

Comment by HogWash

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:04:28 EDT

I've always just used the mobile site, wmata.nextbus.com, and it's worked like a charm, and it seems faster than the app ever did.

Here! Here! Although there are occasional hiccups such as when it gives you info that a bus isn't coming for 15 or so minutes so instead of waiting, you decide to walk...and two minutes later, the bus passes you by. Ugh....

Comment by John M

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:03:21 EDT

Have you heard of the TransLoc app? They do real-time bus data and publish an awesome app. I used it in college. duke.transloc.com

Comment by Columbia Pike rider

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:01:38 EDT

I use a app called "DC Metro and Bus" on my IPad and it works well for me..Hey try it on your IPads..hopefully it will works for u guys too!!

Comment by GP Steve

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:45:45 EDT

It looks like NYC, Boston, and some others are using GTFS-Real Time and providing it to Google. Has their been any talk of WMATA using GTFS-RT and providing to Google? http://transport.kurtraschke.com/2012/11/gtfs-realtime-for-wmata-buses The Google Glass video looks pretty cool because of the GTFS-RT in NYC.

Comment by springroadintoaction

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:43:32 EDT

I've always just used the mobile site, wmata.nextbus.com, and it's worked like a charm, and it seems faster than the app ever did. Bonus: I pulled it up in Boston and it gave me MBTA bus info automatically.

Comment by MLD

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:35:52 EDT

@andrew
http://wmata.com/rider_tools/developer_resources.cfm
and
http://developer.wmata.com/

Comment by andrew

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:32:22 EDT

So, is there an open API for bus arrival or location data?

Comment by Gavin

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:17:50 EDT

And here's a direct link to the Android apps:

DC Metro Transit - Free (with ads)
DC Metro Transit ($3, no ads)

I've used this app for years. One benefit over the mobile website is the ability to save certain stops as favorites and quickly pull up their predictions without browsing the whole list of routes and stops. It also has predictions from other local systems, including the Circulator.

Comment by Gray's in the Fields

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:15:17 EDT

That's not the case, though sometimes it is.

Well, I'm glad we cleared that up.

Comment by Gavin

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:11:15 EDT

WMATA's own mobile website, at wmata.com/mobile, also isn't bad and includes NextBus.