Star
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/535279
TTC riding made easy with iPhone application
Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter
First there was myTTC.ca, the unofficial transit trip planner that elicited cheers among transit watchers in the blogosphere by pre-empting the TTC's own version.
Now Toronto's community of subversive transit-riding computer programmers has combined myTTC's trip-planning data with the portability of the trendiest technology around: the iPhone and iPod Touch. Called Red Rocket, the new application puts TTC route maps and schedules in the palm of a gadget-loving rider's hand, with the benefit of GPS capability.
It doesn't offer real-time information on where the TTC's vehicles are. But the schedule and route data from myTTC.ca is embedded in Red Rocket, and its creators – Hilary Street and George Talusan – say it's a more accurate portrayal of when buses and streetcars actually depart.
And it's been drawing similarly positive reviews online as the myTTC site, designed by another precocious programming duo, Kieran Huggins and Kevin Branigan, which lets visitors type in a departure point and destination intersection to find a suitable transit route and estimated travel time.
The Red Rocket application is the latest in a line of unofficial merchandise and transit technology to hit the street as the TTC works at developing its own offerings. "The software can help you do a number of things, but primarily it can tell you when a TTC vehicle is scheduled to depart. So if you're waiting for the streetcar, you can glance at your iPhone and find out when the next one is due to leave," said Street, a freelance web designer.
One of the biggest benefits of Red Rocket, which can be downloaded for a toonie, is its GPS capability.
"Users can tap a button and immediately find out where the closest stops are to them. If you're already at a stop, you can quickly figure out what the times are for the stop you're standing at," he said.
It works better on an iPhone than an iPod touch, which requires WiFi access. But iPod touch users can still search for stops by typing in the street name or route number.
Google Maps is integrated into the application, so the user can hit one button to drop a series of pins on a map, then zoom into a particular stop and find out how to get there.
The application still has some bugs, Street admits. A few icons don't work properly and there are glitches where times are being displayed in large numbers.
"We wanted to make an application that had a wide appeal to people. The TTC was a natural choice for that," he said.
An earlier iPhone application, called iTTC, by another software developer doesn't have the GPS capabilities or the myTTC.ca data of Red Rocket.
"You don't need an expensive cellular data plan or Internet connectivity to get scheduling information," says Talusan.
TTC officials don't mind tech-savvy riders getting a jump on their plans. A trip planner using the TTC's own data will be available in July and a next-vehicle arrival system will be tested on the Harbourfront streetcar line starting later this month, said spokesperson Brad Ross.
"If others wish to help make the TTC experience a better one," Ross said, "we support it 100 per cent."