Want to find out when the next bus is going to arrive at your stop? Got a phone with text services?
Type “mbta [stop number]” to 41411. A return text will arrive in seconds with estimated arrival times for the next few buses. When you type the text, drop the quotation marks and brackets and replace “stop number” with the actual stop number.
To find out the stop number go to NextBus’s MBTA page, which will also provide up-to-date tracking information.
There are other applications that use the MBTA’s GPS datafeed to provide realtime route information. Anybody used any of the others?
You know what would be even more useful and efficient? Put a QR Code on the signs so that commuters could scan and get the same information much more quickly and easily. I have tried using the T’s apps before and they left me…underwhelmed.
I’ve been using true MassTransit app for the iPhone the last couple of years and it is fantastic. It provides real time information about when the next few buses will arrive, can show you where the buses are currently located, and all th bells and whistles.
No real time info for subway or commuter rail, though. The commuter rail schedule can be accessed through it.
Hmmm… There must be a control board that tells the MBTA the exact location of each train. Where there’s data, there’s a way.
I’m certain the data is out there for the commuter rail. I’ve been at some stations that have variable message boards that provide that info. Also, I believe MassDOT has a sign up on 93 near the Anderson Transportation Center in Woburn that alerts drivers to the next train to Boston.
The Red, Blue, and Orange lines have next train data available on other apps, but I haven’t been that thrilled with their interface. The Green Line does not have that technology.
@Ted. The Austin TX bus stop signs have those QR codes. I’d want to look closely before using them, though, to make sure they were the official ones baked into the sign. Heard a piece on NPR recently about QR codes taking people to spam-type sites.
does anyone know of a bus application for blackberry?
@Julia: In my naivete, and unfounded belief in the goodness of all people, it never occurred to me that someone would put illicit QR Codes on government property.
@Yim: I still take the trolley or commuter rail more often than the bus, which I used to take every day until I moved to a different office that was not close to public transit. Perhaps it is because I use the Android operating system that the T apps do not perform well on my phone. I was similarly underwhelmed by Newton’s 311 app for Android which has never worked correctly on my smart phone. I was told the provider was the lowest bidder. The same thing is true of the new city website, which has a lot of problems, in particular the search engine (which did not come with the Civica package, but I am told was substituted because the Civica search engine was worse). Maybe when my current contract is up I will get an iPhone (which was not available when I signed up for my last smart phone) so I can at least use the T apps. Although from what you are saying, there is room for improvement with the subay/trolley app as well.