Hooray! It's an awesome new day for Muni, or at least, it would be if this wasn't just reverting back to the way that things were in 2005.

Longtime readers might remember that in November of 2005, some folks discovered that they could hack the NextBus URL to view the predictions for tons of lines. It was great! And then, in May, they locked that info away from public view. The predictions were still getting churned out, but for nearly a year, Muni prevented riders from seeing them without whipping up some hack that only sorta worked at best. (Unrelated: That year, Muni's ridership dropped by 1.7%. What an unbelievable coincidence.) We never could get a straight answer about why that data got incarcerated.

But now, here we are, bright-eyed and stout of heart, ready to officially track the newly-released 1 and 5 and 31 and 49 over hill and dale.

Next steps: getting those LED prediction signs in bus shelters, and getting predictions for the diesel lines. When that actually will happen is anyone's guess; we've only heard very vague, informal, non-binding guesses, and there doesn't seem to be an official schedule. We asked Muni for a timetable for specific milestones on sign installations ... but, surprise surprise, they haven't made that information available. And if the past is any guide, it'll take them years to even consider doing so.