COTA BUS TRACKER? Seriously? POS! « Columbus Underground Messageboard

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COTA BUS TRACKER? Seriously? POS!

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Started 2 years ago by bjones7
Latest reply from bjones7

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bldng4jstc
Downtown
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Does anyone know how to get cota routes in a internet map format? Bus-tracker (although never used the gps) was great at highlighting where each route went in detail. Now the website only has a worthless bus stop locater. Google maps does not highlight routes, the maps on the front of the pdfs are too simple, and the master route map on cota's website is too hard to decipher. Anyone have any ideas how to easily see routes in a google maps format?

Examples:
Chicago:
http://www.ctabustracker.com/bustime/map/displaymap.jsp
tOSU:
http://www.trip.osu.edu/bustime/map/displaymap.jsp

Although google transit does a great job of getting me where I want to go, I simply know nothing about the route other then where I get on and off. Would be good to have an idea to further utilize cota. Thanks

Posted 1 year ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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If you can find a bored programmer/coder, perhaps you can convince them to create an App for you?

http://xingcolumbus.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/cota-releasing-open-google-transit-data/

Posted 1 year ago #
th0m
Beechwold
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I spent a lot of time staring at the tracking data they were providing, even thinking of writing apps against it, but it became clear pretty quickly 1) it wasn't very accurate or clean data and 2) they had no official availability policy.

Since then, this past year, I managed to hear talk that they are indeed upgrading the system with something more like OSU's system, and should be able to provide things like texting and ETAs, and it is supposed to be rolled out any day now.

Posted 1 year ago #
johnwirtz
Evanston, IL
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bldng4jstc wrote >>
the master route map on cota's website is too hard to decipher.

I'm working on an alternative system map. Look for something on XingColumbus in the next couple of weeks.

Posted 1 year ago #
ehill27
Short North
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th0m wrote >>
...they are indeed upgrading the system with something more like OSU's system, and should be able to provide things like texting and ETAs, and it is supposed to be rolled out any day now.

I inquired about these upgrades last month and the reply from COTA was that realtime services would be implemented in "late 2011" and the text service would "gradually" be expanded to all stops.

Speaking of long overdue improvements... when are they installing those bus shelters at the statehouse?!

Posted 1 year ago #
bldng4jstc
Downtown
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johnwirtz wrote >>

bldng4jstc wrote >>
the master route map on cota's website is too hard to decipher.

I'm working on an alternative system map. Look for something on XingColumbus in the next couple of weeks.

Great, I thought your Frequent Network Map was a great idea.

Although apps and real time data is nice, how about something like the master map but for each route. Someone had to put a color for almost every route on the map to make the master - so why not make each route a layer and generate route maps from there instead of the simplistic ones on the pdfs? What map does each bus driver use to learn the routes?

Posted 1 year ago #
johnwirtz
Evanston, IL
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bldng4jstc wrote >>

johnwirtz wrote >>

bldng4jstc wrote >>
the master route map on cota's website is too hard to decipher.

I'm working on an alternative system map. Look for something on XingColumbus in the next couple of weeks.

Great, I thought your Frequent Network Map was a great idea.
Although apps and real time data is nice, how about something like the master map but for each route. Someone had to put a color for almost every route on the map to make the master - so why not make each route a layer and generate route maps from there instead of the simplistic ones on the pdfs? What map does each bus driver use to learn the routes?

Okay. It's not perfect, but I think it's better than the official version:

http://xingcolumbus.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/unofficial-cota-system-map/

Posted 1 year ago #
anillo
Marzipan City
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I think it's a lot better too.

Posted 1 year ago #
bjones7
Worthington Ohio
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@ John. Great "Unofficial" COTA System map!. I would rather use this map over the current "Official" one any day. In fact my printer does print 11x17's so I think I just might!.

Oh and great move for COTA to release their bus route and time information in a opensource manner. However, unless you have a opensource community(cota or 3rd party) or a private "paid for" source, it will take forever to output something that will be worth COTA's interest. I'm not stating that one programmer can't compile a program for Cota's bus tracker, but with out resources from a community or even other transit website's (seeing just saying web resources wouldn't hit the nail on it's head), it will take a long time!

Posted 1 year ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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bjones7 wrote >>
Oh and great move for COTA to release their bus route and time information in a opensource manner. However, unless you have a opensource community(cota or 3rd party) or a private "paid for" source, it will take forever to output something that will be worth COTA's interest!

Not necessarily. I just stumbled upon Mapnificent last night and submitted a request for them to add COTA's data to their tool. They're working on it now, and it sounds like it should be added by the end of the week. Without open data this wouldn't have been possible, and the developer is a 23 year old in Germany. The open source "community" doesn't have to necessarily be local, or even working collaboratively on a single project.

Posted 1 year ago #
bjones7
Worthington Ohio
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@ Walker. Yes I know this. Yet Mapnificent apparently has resources, so what I stated is still true. I don't know a single open source coummity that is local actually.

Posted 1 year ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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bjones7 wrote >>
Yet Mapnificent apparently has resources, so what I stated is still true.

I'm not sure I follow you... what do you mean by "apparently has resources"?

Posted 1 year ago #
bjones7
Worthington Ohio
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@ Walker, I apologize, after rereading your post, I think I was looking too into what you were saying, never mind.

Stefan's blog about mapnificent: http://blog.stefanwehrmeyer.com/post/449810520/mapnificent

Very interesting.

Posted 1 year ago #