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NextBus has been providing real-time bus data for years, and doing it better than Google. NextBus did all the hard work to make this work - they developed the position-reporting boxes that go on buses over a decade ago, got transit systems to adopt their technology, and developed a prediction system that figures out when the next bus will show up, based on live data and history. They even put signs in bus shelters that tell when the next bus will arrive.

There was substantial opposition in the transit industry at first. Some transit agencies didn't want accurate data on their operation publicly available. Some of them still don't. But the ones that do find it useful. The transit agency gets all the bus data and can evaluate how their operation is working.

Then some clown writes an article as if Google invented the technology. This is more like the old MIcrosoft tactic of "embrace, extend, devour".

The location of all Los Angles buses by GPS is already publicly available, as well as several other transit systems. New York is piloting the same system for the B63 5th Avenue bus.

GPS doesn't work underground, but I'm pretty sure the MTA already knows exactly where all its trains are. It's just a matter of making the data public rather then trying to interpolate it using cell phone signals.

Ahh, but I remember well when NextBus first started. They wrote the software and then sold the service to various transit systems. (There are many the run NextBus services - or at least trials - see http://www.nextbus.com/)

Now, NextBus owns all of the code, IP rights, and equipment that runs the service. They got paid to install tracking devices on the buses in Muni but other systems already had tracking devices so they just used the tracking data feeds. What NextBus did was take that tracking information and, with their software technology, produce useful information about future arrival times at bus stops. (aka Predictions). This information was generated within the NextBus computers with NextBus developed software.

So, now while I agree that the behaviors here seem a bit strange, I would doubt that the generated data would belong to Muni unless there was a contract that specifically said so. I would doubt that a photographer would say that the pictures belong to the plants or people that he photographed with his camera using his skill... Even if paid to do so - such as wedding photographers owning the copyright on the photos from your wedding...

Dude, NextBus is old school.

e.g. NextBus for Chapel Hill, NC

http://www.nextbus.com/

There are companies that are already doing this. I rely on the Oklahoma City "trolley" system for part of my daily commute, and it's nice to be able to visit http://www.nextbus.com/ in order to see exactly where that trolley is, and how long until it will be at my stop.

Georgia Tech does that too. In fact, here's the page

Unfortunately, it's only implemented for one out of the four routes -- but it's better than nothing.

Try nextbus.com. It has a lot of cities, WAP access, and is pretty accurate, at least in Boulder, CO. But it would be amazing with a real time map like this... it has one, but it's a java applet that has trouble zooming, etc.

That sound you just heard was every slashdot reader in the SF bay area falling out of their chairs from shock.

It's news to me that these are 'excellent' systems. BART is pretty good, if you want to go where it goes, and at least it finally 'sort of' goes to the airport, I guess. But it doesn't go a lot of places one would like to get to, and oddly enough, it doesn't connect to CalTrain, a local rail system that it really _should_ connect with. Muni is cronically not on time, though for a few lines they do get geek points by having GPS tracking via NextBus... if you're using one of the monitored lines.

That aside, at least SF _has_ public transit in a meaningful sense, which is a lot more than can be said for much of the US.

Coolest thing about NextBus is the realtime map

You might talk to the folks at NextBus who offer that sort of info for San Francisco's Municipal Railway. (You can check my stop if you want.) They are probably too expensive for your situation (I suspect they're out to make money) but they might at least have some advice for you.

You might talk to the folks at NextBus who offer that sort of info for San Francisco's Municipal Railway. (You can check my stop if you want.) They are probably too expensive for your situation (I suspect they're out to make money) but they might at least have some advice for you.

Why? Because using nVidia's drivers in any OS is a lot like sucking raw shit through a very thin straw. Some revisions simply won't compile. They refuse to release drivers for Linux 2.6. Tech support is nonexistant.

Fuck nVidia, I can't wait for the stock market to ruin them like it ruined @Home.

down the street from me to see if the bus is coming. I wonder if MUNI is up on this-- the pilot program for tracking buses seems to have fizzled out...

But why would anyone want a monitor in their mirror at home???

For when you want to watch TV in the morning while shaving/washing/applying makeup? A mirror in the hallway that also shows when the Next Bus is coming along? A mirror over your wet bar that can show cocktail recipies via the Internet? A mirror in your main room that can also be a control panel for your TiVO/MP3 jukebox/digital camera gallery?

There is a system at NextBus that has real time transit information, including java apps of buses and trains on a map, that show where and when the next bus or train will show up.

I mentioned this earlier but perhaps the comment got buried but NextBus does just that, straps GPS to the bus and uses that to predict when it arrives based on where the bus is and not just when the schedule says it is. Here is a realtime map of San Francisco

I mentioned this earlier but perhaps the comment got buried but NextBus does just that, straps GPS to the bus and uses that to predict when it arrives based on where the bus is and not just when the schedule says it is. Here is a realtime map of San Francisco

We have the same thing here in San Francisco (minus the non-working java applet, but with access from any Palm or web-enabled cell phone). It's only for a few of the most popular bus/metro lines, but there's been talk of expanding it system wide.

More info here

Next Bus based in Emeryville do something cooler, they strap GPS boxes to busses and then using that data beam the info to busstops so you the time to next bus is based on where the bus actually is as opposed to where the scedule says it should be. Very cool. You can see a live map of the SF busses here

Next Bus based in Emeryville do something cooler, they strap GPS boxes to busses and then using that data beam the info to busstops so you the time to next bus is based on where the bus actually is as opposed to where the scedule says it should be. Very cool. You can see a live map of the SF busses here

NextBus.

The system doesn't care about schedules; it learns real behavior from the data it receives.

This was a low-budget operation; one person developed most of the system.

www.nextbus.com

San Francisco has a system from NextBus for their trams and one of their buses (the 22 Fillmore). NextBus' web site has a list of other cities using their system.

One could imagine a system where cooperating bus riders would signal when they're getting on and off a bus, with the bus location information obtained from the riders' cell phones being used to provide bus arrival prediction to a web site and through it to other wireless users.

This could be done as a community project, conveniently sidestepping the local underfunded public transport bureaucracy. Here the mayor promised tracking for all buses 6 years ago, but nothing has come of it. Then again, he promised to get MUNI (the public transport system) working in "100 days", and it's still broken 1000 days later... and since voters reelected him in spite of inaction, mismanagement, and corruption, we can't really expect anything to change :-).

San Francisco has a system from NextBus for their trams and one of their buses (the 22 Fillmore). NextBus' web site has a list of other cities using their system.

One could imagine a system where cooperating bus riders would signal when they're getting on and off a bus, with the bus location information obtained from the riders' cell phones being used to provide bus arrival prediction to a web site and through it to other wireless users.

This could be done as a community project, conveniently sidestepping the local underfunded public transport bureaucracy. Here the mayor promised tracking for all buses 6 years ago, but nothing has come of it. Then again, he promised to get MUNI (the public transport system) working in "100 days", and it's still broken 1000 days later... and since voters reelected him in spite of inaction, mismanagement, and corruption, we can't really expect anything to change :-).

Basically, GPS transmitters on buses and trains to give you positions and time until arrivals via the web, your cell phone, pagers, etc. I know that Tri-Met is going to be using it for the new Portland Steetcar.

And what good is it? Well, as an example, I am hacking together some HDML (since my market in this area uses the UP.Browser) for the web site I maintain at dartfirststate.com. It's a transit system and I'm doing it mainly for my own benefit, although I hope others can benefit from it.

Basically, all I want to be able to do is to be able to punch in a bus route number and direction, pick from a list of stops it serves, and find times for the next few buses scheduled to arrive.

And since DART is looking into deploying nextbus technology, it'll will also be able to predict how many real minutes it will before the bus arrives. This kind of stuff is a cool application for a net-enabled phone.

The problem with WAP (besides the patent crap) is that people are trying to just port existing web sites to it. People don't want to buy books from their damn phone. There are specific applications that are good for it, but most of the existing web content SUCKS for it. For example, who the heck would bother going to stileproject.com from a cell phone? A site like that is best experienced in a dark closed room with a large monitor!

btw, I was surprised when I went to slashdot.org on my motorola 7868W and got a menu of stories. Unfortunately, when going to a story, I got an invalid content-type error... :(