Exploration

Zarc Transit

South East Queensland public transport, live and in 3D

Same question as Altiscope, different feed: what's the best I can do with open data? A live map of South East Queensland transit that I enjoy looking at, with no server in the middle.

Nearby departuresThe home screen in Auchenflower: live departures from the stops around me count down to Due while the trains and buses move on the map.

Journey plannerI search for Suncorp Stadium, the planner ranks the journeys, and the one I pick draws in red on the map with its walk, bus and walk legs.

Ride-alongOn the 470 the map follows the bus and a ring counts the stops to go. One stop out, the whole screen turns red.

Stops on the backThe same ride on the Glyph Matrix: a ring sweeps down to the departure, then fills as the stops tick down.

I miss my stop

I miss my stop. I look at the phone, look up, and the bus has gone past. Transit apps tell me where the bus is. None of them shout when it's my turn.

No server in the middle

The phone reads Translink's live feed itself and plans the trip on-device, with a timetable compiled ahead of time. Walking legs follow real streets. While I'm walking to a stop, it tells me the pace I need to make the departure.

Calm, then loud

Ride-along is quiet for most of the trip: a ring that counts stops to go. One stop before mine it takes over the whole screen in red and says GET OFF NEXT, with a vibration to match. It blends phone GPS with the vehicle's position, and keeps counting by dead reckoning when GPS drops out.

Small drops

An early build, released in small drops. The next drop is a big upgrade to the map itself. Timetables and live positions are Translink open data under CC BY 4.0.