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New Yorkers can be pretty insecure when it comes to Boston

By adamg on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 2:25pm

New York's equivalent of the MBTA has decided to open up its data to application developers so they can come up with all sorts of cool things. Where have we heard that before? Oh, yeah, when the MBTA announced similar plans last fall. MassDOT's Josh Robin reports from a developer meeting this week down in the Evil Empire:

Deputy US CTO for Open Government Noveck told the audience that she wanted the New York transit developer community to "Beat Boston." Instantaneously, "Beat Boston" became a theme of the panel, until Chairman Walder upped the ante, declaring that the New York developer community actually needed to "Crush Boston."

Hearing a chorus of "Beat Boston" speaks volumes about what the MassDOT Developer Community has accomplished since last summer. In just nine months, developers have built more than one dozen applications that help MBTA riders. Our shared success is quickly becoming the model for transit agencies as they think about how to provide real-time information to customers.

Topics: 
The T
Technology


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Comments

By pierce on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 2:31pm.

when will boston release more data? I live on the 39 route and love "catch the bus" but even I am frustrated by the lack of other lines....

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By datadyne007 on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 2:49pm.

"As General Manager Rich Davey announced at our event on March 24th, MassDOT/MBTA will be unlocking full-system bus location data later this summer."

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By anon on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 3:01pm.

This is probably a dumb question, but do you know if that data will include express bus data? (and is this app on droids?)

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By J on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 3:11pm.

The MBTA doesnt make the apps, they just release data so other people can make them. Droid is popular enough that there are probably multiple apps for it.

This is a good resource for transit apps:
http://www.citygoround.org/

I don't think the MBTA is the gold standard for data (far from it), but they ARE considered home of the best transit website, by far. Most other transit systems give you a webpage that looks like it came from 1996 with PDFs of the routes. Unfamiliar with the area? Have fun clicking each route to find the one you need.

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By datadyne007 on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 3:22pm.

The MTA's website is BRUTAL. When I was going down to NYC for the weekend, I went to their site to try to plan some trips on the subway because all transit websites must have a Trip Planner, right? WRONG.

The MBTA probably has the best transit website in the world.

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By Ubermonkey on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 3:56pm.

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/index.shtml

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By JonT on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 3:57pm.

Oh man, I'm really getting old. When did "Brutal" start meaning "good"?

Oh well, as the father of a teenager, I guess I'm required to be out of touch.

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By mike on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 4:01pm.

MTA = NYC
MBTA = Boston

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By datadyne007 on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 4:26pm.

Even better, MTA used to = Boston and NYC... =P

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By mike on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 4:30pm.

Well, if we're being all technical, no. The MBTA succeeded the MTA in 1964, while the MTA replaced the MCTA in 1968. The MCTA, in turn, was founded in 1965 to replace the NYCTA.

But now we're just playing super-pedant.

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By roadman on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 4:35pm.

have at least three separate meanings, depending upon your age and/or knowledge of history:

Metropolitan Transit Authority
Massachusetts Turnpike Authority
Massachusetts Teacher's Association

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By issacg on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 2:44pm.

this is a nice story, but I have to ask the obvious question:

when are we going to beat new york with reliability, ingenuity and dedication to the actual transit service (rather than the reliability and ingenuity of the apps describing the service and the dedication of the creators of those apps)? Perhaps we should put the MBTA developer community in charge of MBTA operations?

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By Jimmy on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 3:15pm.

Boston's mass transit system as a benchmark for success is pretty much the textbook example of low-hanging fruit.

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By pj on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 3:19pm.

WSJ article

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB200014240527487043...

and there is an Android app for the buses, its called Catch the Bus

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By escapedfromeastie on Fri, 05/07/2010 - 4:33pm.

I hope this means that Boston will increase T to 24 hours just to spite NYC. Whatever makes them feel better about themselves so that life is just a bit more convenient for me.

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By Kaz on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 10:41am.

Wake me when we're this good.

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