SFist: I Wish...

cole

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 23:28:59 -0800

there is the 511 service that lets you get stop info from your cell phone but last i checked was only for the trains. Otherwise since most cell phones now have internet access useing the internet is a lot easier than trying to text for time. I have made my own web sites /bookmarks for the stops i use the most and otherwise navagate thru the next bus menu, it works great. (most of the time)

Alex

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 23:29:34 -0800

Oh, my wish list? Fix the damn subway station signs so that they don't go bezerk (or blank) when a J rolls thru. Fix them so that if the train is really not heading to the end of the line (say Balboa Park), the overhead sign indicates that. Fix the overhead signs at Montgomery so that they work, period. Sheesh.

Alex

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 23:26:38 -0800

So, why not go to the source? Easy. NextBus is using Java servlets on their side to send information to your computers where the NextBus Java applet is running. Unfortunately because they're using the built-in serialization shit, you're pretty much SOL as far as trying to decipher the information being sent to your computer. That is, of course, unless you write something in Java. Something that makes use of NextBus's own Java classes (see also the text message thing on SFist). So, one could, in theory, write a small Java application that uses the NextBus applet to send requests to the server (you don't really need Java for this part), and is then able to decode the response (this is where you need Java), and then use one of the many freely available classes that will dump Java objects into something more easily understood like XML. Or, you could change the NextBus HTML around a bit, put it on a web server somewhere (or fiddle with endless Java security settings) along with a copy of the NextBus Java applet. Bam. You've got their "administrative" map. You know, the one that shows all the "hidden" routes. That's the easy part. Getting accurate predictions, that's the hard part. For the record, I loathe Java, and I think that NextBus (while a good idea) is pretty horrid in its implementation. Security through obscurity is never a good idea. That said, SOAP? No no no. No. NO. The most straight forward thing to do, IMO, would be to just provide URLs where one could download periodically updated info on everything. If you want buzzwords to keep you warm at night: REST. If you really need the complexity that SOAP brings, settle for XML-RPC. XML-RPC is way lighter weight, and for the purposes of NextBus queries, it would do just fine. Hell, I'd even endorse SOAP if it meant that there was a semblance of interoperability between the various transit agencies around the globe providing live information. Cause... really.. that's what's needed more than anything else.

bob

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 22:41:49 -0800

In regards to the "engineer" who posted the if you look at the link and can't figure it out.. you're not a very good engineer. vehicle (Bus) 5474 is on route 22 at lat=37.. long=-122.... The last GPS report was received 8 seconds ago. It has a heading (for map display) of 165 geographic degrees.

MattyMatt

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:12:24 -0800

The prediction signs should be at the street level. Nobody wants to have to walk all the way downstairs just to find out whether they should've stayed up on the street. Especially at Church St, where the walk from escalator to arrival sign is rather lengthy. I'd be relatively satisfied if Muni directed people to TextMarks, since that service seems to do the job rather well. Part of having a "working transit agency" is having info where riders need it, and web-2.0-ness, done right, is a good way to accomplish that. But don't even bother telling people to submit suggestions to SFMTA -- I have never, not once, ever seen that accomplish anything.

HM

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:06:44 -0800

You can already use the RescueMuni PDA NextBus page and a service called TextMarks to accomplish what you were talking about. In 2 minutes I created a JCHURCH24IN and a JCHURCH24OUT that work great... er, as well as NextBus works great. Simply text "jchurch24in" or "jchurch24out" to the number 41411. You get the current information back. If you want other routes/locations, you'll need to get up off your ass and do it yourself. If riders demanded that SFMTA give them SMS access to NextBus data then maybe they'd set aside some money to do it. Otherwise they may be researching more cost effective methods (ESP, using carrier pigeons, or smoke signals, etc.) to get that information to the rider. I think that it is probably better to have a working transit agency than web 2.xxxx gadgetland. Remember, you can always send a comment or suggestion to sfmta.com

Austin

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:50:19 -0800

First you say, "There should be prediction signs at the entrance to underground stations, not on the platform." Then you go on to mention the "Nextbus display in the subway windows," being hard to understand... but those are the predictions at the entrance you wanted! They may be more difficult to decipher, but there isn't a need to enter the station to see predictions; they're there in the agent booth, before going through the turnstiles.

Jerry Jarvis

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:37:27 -0800

I live just above Market street so I was able to test out NextMuni for the F line and I have to say for that line it was pretty much right on time. Later on when they add more lines to the system I could check into it more.Yeah I lead a pretty exciting life I know.

oddibe

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:53:20 -0800

i rely on the 33 for my commute, and while it's usually reliable enough in the mornings, in the evenings a half-hour wait or more is all too common. i usually just end up taking another route altogether out of frustration. and i've tried several times to use NextBus to gauge the 33's arrival and it has *never once* been remotely accurate.

andrew

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:44:45 -0800

Here's the Rescue Muni page: www.rescuemuni.org/nextbus-pda.html Yes, there are occasional errors, but I find that these work pretty well. Close enough for government work, right?

Mike

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:22:12 -0800

Very interesting post, Matt. Last night, I was taking the 33 from Castro to 16th and Bryant. The one I was on made all of us get off at Mission and board another bus that had caught up to it. The first bus went to Bryant without any passengers and then stopped. The driver of the second bus was PO'ed about something and it seemed like they were about to argue, but I had to get where I was going. On the way back, I caught a gap in service as there was no 33 for over 24 minutes and no 22 for over 30 minutes. I had checked the times earlier and a 33 had been predicted but the prediction changed while I was finishing up. Weird.

Belgand

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:22:29 -0800

BART has the same damn problem with the signs. You have to stand there almost until your train comes staring at a sign telling you all sorts of useless and well-known information in the hope of catching a brief glimpse of expected arrival times. The signs should always show the current arrival time along with the current time.

Joe Gratz

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:19:15 -0800

I wrote some Python code last year to grab and parse the Nextbus XML. They changed some things around and it doesn't work anymore for the non-public trolley lines (it used to), and I don't have time to maintain it. Still works for the lines where the data's public. Anyway, I posted the code here">http://www.joegratz.net/archives/2007/03/05/nextbus-python-script/">here.

KWillets

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:06:21 -0800

How about an online betting site?

Greg

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 18:13:45 -0800

I (VERY RELUCTANTLY) have linked to the half-assed not yet ready for primte time MUNI/Nextbus page that Rescue MUNI put out as a "service" just because people kept asking me about it. But there's a reason it's not public - it is WRONG on some lines more often than not. Hence, the reason for the slow rollout.