1604 Posted March 14, 2016 Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 Real time bus tracking for Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton, and Saskatoon Features: live map with current bus positions updated every 30 to 60 seconds view full trip and block schedules look up and search for buses by route, model, or fleet number view bus/block history - routes/buses recently seen integrated route detour/info notices (Calgary only) fully mobile friendly Go check it out: https://transit55.ca/ I've been working on this project for the longest while and I'm quite excited to finally be sharing it. Feel free to let me know about any thoughts or questions you have, or any issues you run into! A huge thank you to A. Wong for getting the initial version off the ground and all the technical help and feedback along the way. Also a big thanks to everyone who tested the site and gave feedback! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98 Willowdale-Senlac Posted March 14, 2016 Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 Is it just only for edmonton and calgary for more cities? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1604 Posted March 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 Is it just only for edmonton and calgary for more cities? For the time being, yes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick B Posted March 14, 2016 Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 Just tried it out, and I absolutely love it! This will make tracking so much easier now. I'm bookmarking this for sure! Now all this needs is a mobile version for iOS/Android! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awstott Posted March 14, 2016 Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 It's awesome! Now the BYDs won't be so hard to find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Parsons Posted March 14, 2016 Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 The problem is the BYD's aren't being so reliable lately. Works splendid on my BlackBerry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1604 Posted March 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2016 Just tried it out, and I absolutely love it! This will make tracking so much easier now. I'm bookmarking this for sure! Now all this needs is a mobile version for iOS/Android! Thanks Nick! Glad you like it. It's awesome! Now the BYDs won't be so hard to find! The problem is the BYD's aren't being so reliable lately. Works splendid on my BlackBerry. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noahrp24 Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 Awesome tracking system! Very clear and easy to read. I hope you will expand in the future to Toronto or something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusRider Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 Great work! The future is here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1604 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 Thanks guys! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16 McCowan Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 Wow! Maybe you guys should make a free app and make it iOS 6 or 7 friendly since some of us are stuck using pre-iOS 7 technology. As for the Toronto version, you should make the colors for certain divisions: Arrow Road - Red Birchmount - Cyan New Eglinton - Orange Malvern - Blue Mt. Dennis - Pink Queensway - Green Roncesvalles - Oilve Russell - Magneta* Wilson - Purple * - Also includes Leslie which now houses the new Flexity streetcars. Please also include division/garage for Toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wt_enthusiast_photos Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 Do you plan to get Winnipeg Transit on there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
140 Southshore Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 Hopefully you're planning on including Detroit Department of Transportation on there too-the existing DDOT tracker that doesn't require purchasing any smartphone apps (which isn't even hosted on the city of Detroit website) doesn't even show the fleet number, just the direction and a color code determining the delay from the scheduled window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Express691 Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 Quite happy to see sites like this being done by Transitfans in other cities! Makes garage transfers and special sightings easier to pinpoint!Before now, I think Metro Vancouver was the only Canadian city to have a bus tracking site like this. http://tcomm.bustrainferry.com/mobile/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Parsons Posted March 19, 2016 Report Share Posted March 19, 2016 Wow! Maybe you guys should make a free app and make it iOS 6 or 7 friendly since some of us are stuck using pre-iOS 7 technology. I can't say I know much about what it entails to build and maintain an app, or what Tallis and Co have in store for Transit55, but, I figure I'll share some of my points of view on apps. First, why do you need an app? I have found the existing website to be incredibly functional. What could an app add that isn't already there? I imagine it would basically just port all of the existing data into a standalone program. That means you have an extra program using resources on your phone. What's the point? It's using the same data service on your phone as the website would use. Second, you gave a great reason not to do an app. You're complaining about making it "friendly" for older software. That means that not only would they have to maintain and debug the web version, but multiple versions for old and new Android and Apple operating systems. And you expect this to be done for you for free. As for the Toronto version, you should make the colors for certain divisions: Please also include division/garage for Toronto. Again, not an expert here, but, the data used by 3rd party real time websites and apps for trackers, stop predictors, etc. are only available to developers if the transit agency supplies the data feed. Obviously, it's then up to the transit agency what is contained in the data feed. As some have observed, in some cases fleet numbers don't appear on trackers, quite possibly because either the person programming the tracker, or the agency supplying the data, didn't feel it was relevant to the general public. For that reason, I don't see what relevance to the general public which garage a bus runs out of, so I'd be surprised if that is contained in public data feeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1604 Posted March 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Thanks for all the interest! I would love to add more cities, but unfortunately, it's not as easy as just dropping in a different data feed and being done with it. First and foremost, processing the data for each city multiple times per minute consumes server resources, which, sooner or later, translates into needing a beefier server, and then a higher monthly bill. It also takes time to set up, customize and adapt, and then maintain the site for each city. Lastly, even though many cities have GPS on their buses, not all of them make that data publicly available in the format the site is built around, or at all. I also agree with Martin on his points about the app. The website is designed to scale well between PC and mobile, and developing an app would take a lot of extra work and time. Focusing solely on the web version allows me to devote all my attention to that instead of having to juggle between 2 or more different platforms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leylandvictory2 Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 it would be nice if there is an app to track GO buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCT-3122-D800-10240 Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 it would be nice if there is an app to track GO buses. Did you happen to read the post above yours before posting this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransitfanJW Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 it would be nice if there is an app to track GO buses. slow claps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusRider Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Thanks for all the interest! I would love to add more cities, but unfortunately, it's not as easy as just dropping in a different data feed and being done with it. First and foremost, processing the data for each city multiple times per minute consumes server resources, which, sooner or later, translates into needing a beefier server, and then a higher monthly bill. It also takes time to set up, customize and adapt, and then maintain the site for each city. Lastly, even though many cities have GPS on their buses, not all of them make that data publicly available in the format the site is built around, or at all. I also agree with Martin on his points about the app. The website is designed to scale well between PC and mobile, and developing an app would take a lot of extra work and time. Focusing solely on the web version allows me to devote all my attention to that instead of having to juggle between 2 or more different platforms. What would be your thoughts on a crowd funding campaign to help pay for the higher costs that come with expanding the service? Perhaps Patreon or some kind of subscription model of that type? HeritageUnits.com uses that sort of thing for pretty much the same reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1604 Posted March 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 What would be your thoughts on a crowd funding campaign to help pay for the higher costs that come with expanding the service? Perhaps Patreon or some kind of subscription model of that type? HeritageUnits.com uses that sort of thing for pretty much the same reason. That's actually a really interesting idea, though I'll need to give it some thought before making any final decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1604 Posted July 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 The July Update! Calgary Added automatic garage tracking. This can be seen on the map, model listings, and more. Further information here. Added an FAQ page. Fixed an issue (four days ago) preventing Stampede floater buses from showing up (these are the FLT routes you might have seen). Updated Out of Service bus text formatting to match that of revenue buses. Implemented a work around for the data feed occasionally going blank - the map will now hold its last position until new data is available; no longer will it go entirely blank. Edmonton Added "updated at" timestamps to buses on the map, displaying when the bus reported its location. Hamilton Introducing the first addition to the site! Hamilton Street Railway is now available - track away! https://transit55.ca/hamilton/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSTOFan Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Next add OC Transpo and STO to the site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transit 20 Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 would be nice if you could add GRT and Go Transit bus to your site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion 1200 Posted July 24, 2016 Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 On 7/18/2016 at 5:56 PM, OCSTOFan said: Next add OC Transpo and STO to the site! On 7/18/2016 at 6:12 PM, Transit 20 said: would be nice if you could add GRT and Go Transit bus to your site. That information actually has to exist first - STO and GO Transit do not provide it; OC Transpo only provides bus size information ('short bus', 'long bus', etc.); GRT uses the same INIT tracker as YRT that shows bus numbers when you mouseover the vehicles, but the bus number data would have to be part of the open data that they provide; I am yet to see any third party apps of YRT or GRT information that have them so I don't think that it's there. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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