August 28, 2007
NextMuni's Leaking Data For Classified Diesel Lines
It's the NextMuni map they don't want you to see! Not that there's any reason to keep it from you; Muni just doesn't feel like releasing it.
A few weeks ago, observant Muniwatchers noticed that some diesel lines had been added to the official NextMuni site: the 38, for example. Yay! But some lines still lingered in offline purgatory: the 43, for example. Boo!
But just because the info's not on the official site doesn't mean you can't hack it. This isn't a new discovery, but in case you're not familiar with NextMuni hacks, you might find this URL helpful:
http://nextmuni.com/googleMap/googleMap.jsp?a=sf-muni&r=43
You have to manually zoom in, and the route still doesn't get drawn, and the bus line appears as "null," but anyway: ta da! The hidden data is now visible -- as it has been for weeks -- and you're free to plan your trip with accurate predictions. Our sources report that some 311 operators are aware of this trick, although when we called and spoke to "David," he wasn't familiar with it. (And if you do call 311 for predictions, make sure they're using the satellite data, rather than Muni's fictitious timetables.)
Will the data on the hidden lines ever get official placement on the NextMuni site? Our magic 8 ball responds with the same answer it gives for all Muni planning inquiries: "eh. Maybe someday, if someone feels like it. Who knows?"
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in ur next muni, reportin ur diesel linez
seriously: diesel lines are planned for the fall.
Yes Matt, I'm sure that these lines will show up sooner or later. They publicized a bunch of diesel routes last month, right?
There are semi-active (and totally inaccurate) signs along some other diesel routes.
Also: http://www.flickr.com/photos/19417968@N00/1264549158/
I asked NextMuni about the 43 - they said in the next couple of months, maybe much sooner.
I'm new to Next Muni, being a 38 rider. I like having it, but it is so f---ed up that it is useless. For instance, this morning, as happens every morning, the 38 L was listed on the little sign as coming in 58 minutes and 65 minutes. It showed up in two minutes. The first time this happened, I almost opted for the regular, but the limited showed up just in time. Now I just ignore the lying bastard.
Don't just stand there, watching NextMuni fail. Let them know so they can fix it.
Website at nextbus dot com.
They can't wait to hear from you.
Looking at the map and replacing "43" with "23" explains a lot about why my commute on the is so deeply fucked up: there are only 3 buses on the entire route.
scorched,
there are only 3 buses that have a next transmitter currently running on the 23 route. Most likely that is why muni/nextbus has not enabled the service. Oh wait I forgot, it just because they are lazy, and not jumping to install transmitters every single bus in the fleet ASAP....
So you should blog about how now tons of buses (as of today) are on nextbus, finally the god damn 28...
ps it is pretty funny you blogged about this this morning and now they added almost all of the main routes.
Here's the thing I don't buy about there only being three NextBus equipped vehicles on the 43. The vast majority of the MUNI bus fleet (ETI, NABI, NeoPlan, and Orion 7s) already has GPS tracking equipment of some sort.
What's that? you say. They've all got the AVL (automatic vehicle locator) doohickeies, visible in the form of stop announcement devices. From the NB web site, NB can be integrated with third party AVL systems. From what I can glean from google, MUNI awarded NB the contract for AVL stuff. From what I remember MUNI awarded the AVL contract to someone else in '99.
That, and, they don't run special buses on the 43. The New Flyer trolleybuses and the Orion Is will probably never get retrofitted with NextBus equipment (as they're both, in theory, retired).
What's my point? If NB did the existing GPS stuff, then it should all work. If NB didn't, why isn't it interoperating? Eh... regardless, the existing GPS stuff is somewhat unreliable in my experience. The last 28 I took was not being predicted by the NB sign at Geary & Park Presidio, nor was it announcing stops to patrons until after the driver restarted the bus (had to turn it off to go into Starbucks).