The native One Bus Away iPhone App.
The One Bus Away blog has spread word that a native iPhone App for the service is now available through iTunes. Among the features mentioned on the product page are:
- Real-time arrival arrival information for public transit.
- Map display of stops and routes.
- Nearby stops search for location-aware devices.
- Bookmarks and recent stop history.
- Search for stops by route, address, and stop number.
I’ve been using a test version of this app on my phone for months and I have to say it’s an extremely useful tool to see when the next bus is coming at a particular stop. Definitely has helped me with peace of mind, and it’s told me a few times that I have time for that chai or frozen yogurt. A must-have for iPhone owners.
I used this yesterday at an unfamiliar stop and was able to tell that my next bus was only 4 minutes away. I like not having to tell it where I am.
Just installed it and it rocks!
Does this work for Link and the streetcar as well?
I’m still working to get real-time arrival data for Link and the SLU Streetcar, though their static schedule data should be usable with the iPhone client (Link data will go live this weekend with the latest service revision from Metro).
Do you plan to create apps for other phones? I have a Palm Pre. I just wish Snohomish Country agencies had something like this:(…
Indeed! I’d love to see Android and WebOS versions. I’m no coder but I understand that WebOS is fairly easy to develop for. In the meantime, the iPhone version of the site works really well on my non-iPhone device.
All we can do is cross our fingers about a WebOS version! I think the hard part will be expannd the app to include ST and Snohomish Country:(.
I’m working on a WebOS version of this app. Hope to have it available next week :).
I have some screenshots on my blog: http://bchilds.com/blog/2009/10/04/onebusaway-for-the-palm-pre
Heh, I think you mean “peace of mind”.
D’oh. Thanks.
Brian: do you guys have a tip jar? People charge money for vastly inferior products.
I’ll second that? Why are you not charging for this? Even using the One Bus Away web site beats many of the pricier iPhone apps. I’d gladly pay for it.
We had so much crap before….
Seattle Bus, the 1st one. Came out at $20 (yeah, $20) then went to $15. Then 10.. Then $5 (once the competition heated up, last updated July 2008 (yeah, exactly). Sucked (and still does)
Then there was Seattle Metro, at a more reasonable price. UI ugly. They tried. Even did an update or two. But sucked., Way sucked. No maps. No route maps. Another crappy pay program. Last updated? July 2009! Yay. Version is even a large version (3.1). But missed a bunch of stops. No maps. And although it costs money and was cheap, also stoped being very useful because the data was presented poorly and the information was very hard to figure out…
Then we had the cool concept app Seattle Bus Map. Cool idea. Looks like it would look cool. And it has a map!!! but was never updated, crashed all the time, is a whopping $10!!!!!
And now, a blessing. Well done, well engineered. FREE! (not that we need free, but if you charge, it should freakin’ work!) And FULLY functional. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Yes, where can I donate?
Seattle Bus still not good.
Seattle Metro Didn’t look worthwhile.
Seattle Bus Map Version 2.0 makes it a real app, nice maps and moving buses.
One Bus Away – Can’t beat free. !
This app is great! What would make this app more awesome would be if we could set timed alarms on bus stops. For example, if a bus is within 5 minutes of a bus stop, an alarm fires and tells me to get over there before I miss the bus.
Man. Now I want an iPhone more than ever.
Ballmer is not going to be happy.
So I wanted an iPhone but didn’t want to switch from Verizon…..so got the Blackberry Storm. Will anything like this ever happen for Blackberry?????
I think I’m going to get an iPhone now. You should be charging Apple for this – it’s the sort of thing that gets them customers! (Obviously that’s not how iPhone apps work.)
Just downloaded on your recommendation…thank you!