R-Line Buses Get Real Time Location and Arrival Information

Just in time for the R-Line’s one year anniversary, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance has now announced a fabulous new feature, real-time tracking for the buses.

Anytime that you need to catch an R-Line bus, you can pop over to the DRA’s website and see where both of the buses are, in real time. Each bus is represented by a pulsing dot moving through the downtown streets. The map “relies on a GPS feed from the moving bus, which is pushed to the interactive map for updating every 5 to 10 seconds.”

There is also a text indication that updates automatically noting when the two buses will stop at two key locations on the route, the Raleigh Convention Center and West & Peace stops. You can also check it on the go on your mobile phone here. Unfortunately, the mobile version only shows the next arrivals at the two key stops which is because the “majority of mobile users do not have flash on their devices and if they did the map would not view properly on a screen that small”, says the DRA. Commence the Flash/HTML5 debate. Now, if only the CAT system could get the same upgrade.

R-Line Real-Time Tracking

The R-LINE operates Monday through Wednesday (7 am-11 pm), Thursday through Saturday (7 am-2:15 am), and on Sunday (1 pm-8 pm).

jasdelaney02/05 01:08 PM

This is great, but haven’t figured out how to get the site to work with my BB. Says you have to install Adobe Flash Player, but no luck. Has anyone got it to work? Suggestions?

uncwgirl7702/05 01:22 PM

Sweet——-the R Line rocks & keeps getting better all the time.

gd02/05 01:57 PM

Jasdelaney: I dont think BB can install flash. I haven’t been able to install it on mine at all.

eg02/05 02:19 PM

R-line is great and so is this tracking feature, but having the map in Flash means that the majority of smartphones can’t run it (iPhone, BB).

FWIW, you can still go to this page and get next stop updates, but there’s no cool map to look at and you have to figure out yourself to determine where the bus is relative to your current position.

DRA should sponsor a Downtown Raleigh iPhone app with all this kinda info on it. I’d spring for it.

Jess G.02/05 02:31 PM

Why don’t they make an iPhone app? I’d pay 99 cents for it, and then it could tell us where the buses are and raise money for the city, or a good cause!

Jess G.02/05 02:32 PM

Or sign up for text message alerts when it reaches a certain stop, so you can walk outside and catch it.

Jonathan02/05 02:38 PM

When it opened there was a statement that by summer (last summer) there would be real time indicators at the stops. I guess that fell through?

Kevin02/05 02:41 PM

I’ll write an Android app after I finish reverse engineering the Flash app. Hopefully it talks json to some service that provides current bus lat/long.

bobby.is.rad02/05 03:38 PM

I just shot them an email letting them know how cool this was and asking them if they were ever going to make an iphone app. Everyone else should too!

bobby.is.rad02/05 03:40 PM

Here is their email address: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

B02/05 04:18 PM

Kevin

Here is the url the flash file is getting its data from

http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/otvia/otvia_xml.pxp?1265402940890?time=1265402940890 with a time stamp varible. I think its a 13 digit asp timestamp

creating a xml file

Pat02/05 04:48 PM

The whole mobile web app is sweet

http://m.yourhere.com/

tells you the nearest bar to where you are standing and how to get there. same in iPhone and Droid.

Betsy02/05 07:58 PM

Wow, this is great! It’s too bad the CAT system opted for software that won’t show the CAT buses in real time.

Kevin02/07 12:01 PM

Thanks B. Already got it with wireshark. It works fine without the timestamp.

I’m actually finishing up. App shows your current position, the buses, markers for stops, and draws the route. Pretty simple. I’m going to add a link to their mobile page, just incase that becomes more useful. Still tinkering with making the bus stops clickable.

I’ll probably publish this today without the clickable stops/buses.

Kevin02/07 12:03 PM

Btw, the data only updates roughly every 30 seconds (roughly, it varies). The flash app simulates smooth movement by animating the bus marker from last known position to current position.

Kevin02/07 01:42 PM

It’s out there. Search the Google Android Market for R-Line and you should find it. Future enhancements to come.

Here’s a screenshot:

http://tinyurl.com/y9hnro4

Chad Evans02/09 12:19 PM

The funds for gps tracking would be better spent on providing basic route maps and pickup times at CAT bus stops. In the afternoon many CAT stops are only served ONCE an hour… some indication of when the bus is arriving during that hour would be greatly beneficial.

The R Line picks up about every 12 minutes… is it really all that necessary to know exactly when in that 12 minute window the bus will arrive?

It seems like this gps system is just a way to wash over the flaws of the current CAT system.

Also, the Convention Center is not a key location. The key location is the stop at Moore Square station, that is where the highest daily volume enters or exits. The Convention Center stop is the backwoods stop on the R Line route.

Kevin02/09 12:21 PM

@Chad I agree. It’s kind of silly. I don’t understand why they can’t roll it out CAT wide in a hurry. NCSU added it to nearly all their buses as a senior design project.

Jonathan02/09 04:04 PM

CAT buses have it now: http://www.raleighrides.org/

jasdelaney02/10 09:28 PM

The City of Raleigh Transit has informed the DLA that while currently smart phones can only view the time points for the Convention Center and West Peace St, they are currently considering adding GPS feeds for the remaining 18 stops…

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Jedidiah Friday, February 05, 2010