So...BusTime...

[Deucey]

Anyone else notice that it's been really bad lately - either repeatedly showing "(old data)" on text and the website, or not even returning arrival data via text message?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Yeah we talked about it another thread. Solution: Use BusTime in desktop mode and tap on the bus icon to ensure that the bus or buses you're tracking have the latest data.

[QM1to6Ave]

Yeah,  as VG8 mentioned, we discussed this in the random thoughts thread.  I've noticed it for about a week or so. Really annoying and ridiculous. There was an MTA alert about texts not working on TMobile or Sprint recently, too. 

[QM1to6Ave]

Update: I sent in an email complaint about this problem. I recommend you guys do it as well so they take  the issue seriously. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Update: I sent in an email complaint about this problem. I recommend you guys do it as well so they take  the issue seriously. 

Yeah I was tracking the BxM2 this morning and it kept saying "Old Data".  They'll address it eventually, but I can tell you from previous complaints that it isn't high on their list. I used report buses that couldn't be tracked. It would usually take them months to address the issue. 

[QM1to6Ave]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah I was tracking the BxM2 this morning and it kept saying "Old Data".  They'll address it eventually, but I can tell you from previous complaints that it isn't high on their list. I used report buses that couldn't be tracked. It would usually take them months to address the issue. 

At least they eventually addressed your issues. The ones I sent in are still very much present. Typical MTA. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

32 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

At least they eventually addressed your issues. The ones I sent in are still very much present. Typical MTA. 

Yeah like the spotty WiFi... lol I tried it out with a back up phone. Worked some days and other days it didn't work... 

[Lawrence St]

I just saw a bus driving on the river on the bustime map. Yea this thing need's to be fixed.

[Deucey]

3 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Update: I sent in an email complaint about this problem. I recommend you guys do it as well so they take  the issue seriously. 

Last two times I complained about SI bus service:

1st one about the s42/52 arriving 15 minutes after the Ferry from Manhattan arrived: Shitty bus driver reassigned after 3 months of complaining
2nd one about the other drivers on the AM S52 trip driving 10mph and making us miss the 7am ferry while the Awesome driver got us there at 6:58 so we weren't late to work: Awesome bus driver reassigned two weeks later (no diss to @SevenEleven, since I never saw him on the S52 run after he replaced the driver)

My luck, I complain and they'll shut down BusTime permanently next week.

[SevenEleven]

7 minutes ago, Deucey said:

Last two times I complained about SI bus service:

1st one about the s42/52 arriving 15 minutes after the Ferry from Manhattan arrived: Shitty bus driver reassigned after 3 months of complaining
2nd one about the other drivers on the AM S52 trip driving 10mph and making us miss the 7am ferry while the Awesome driver got us there at 6:58 so we weren't late to work: Awesome bus driver reassigned two weeks later (no diss to @SevenEleven, since I never saw him on the S52 run after he replaced the driver)

My luck, I complain and they'll shut down BusTime permanently next week.

Let the record show that I have not seen this nosy black man either. Lol 🤷🏾‍♂️

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

I missed a Q38 and a Bx4 yesterday, thinking that the bus was far away (when in fact it was pretty close). I was not waiting for another Q38, so I was fed up. I was transferring from the Bx11 to the Bx4, but the bus was already at Westchester & Southern. Bustime showed the bus at Southern Boulevard 4 minutes after it left. Of course the next bus (Bx4A) came right as Bustime indicated (and after a while of waiting).

[Lil 57]

Look at some of the BusTime Maps for some of the SI Routes, Never knew that buses can fly or that the X17J goes Via Bayonne.😑 

[161 New York]

Wow, that x17J version through Jersey City and Hoboken is completely on point! Obviously whoever made that map knows Jersey City well. Though I know a small short-cut to save some time via Bayonne and southern JC.

[East New York]

This exactly why I don’t, and never have used BusTime. I use Bus NYC and it seems to be on point 99.9% of the time. It’s tied right into the same GPS that Is used on the internal roster.

[QM1to6Ave]

4 hours ago, East New York said:

This exactly why I don’t, and never have used BusTime. I use Bus NYC and it seems to be on point 99.9% of the time. It’s tied right into the same GPS that Is used on the internal roster.

What is Bus NYC? Is it an app? I don't see it when I look on the google play store

[Lil 57]

11 hours ago, 161 New York said:

Wow, that x17J version through Jersey City and Hoboken is completely on point! Obviously whoever made that map knows Jersey City well. Though I know a small short-cut to save some time via Bayonne and southern JC.

The X22/22a also have some werid JC path on bus time too. 

P.S. What is the shortcut you mentioned via Bayonne and JC?

[East New York]

5 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

What is Bus NYC? Is it an app? I don't see it when I look on the google play store

I just looked. I’m sorry, I guess it’s still not available for anything other than iOS.... This app is 4 years old so I’m not sure why it’s not available on Android yet. 

[azspeedbullet]

does bustime work on smartphones? i have it installed on my phone, whenever i try to use i get an error message that says check internet connection. my phone has good 4g signal, and other apps work fine.

[bobtehpanda]

On 8/2/2018 at 9:35 PM, East New York said:

I just looked. I’m sorry, I guess it’s still not available for anything other than iOS.... This app is 4 years old so I’m not sure why it’s not available on Android yet. 

The short reason is that Android users are much less likely as a whole to pay for apps.

The other reason is that Android and iOS are kind of like night and day for developers. It would be as if you asked some random  American with a Bachelor's to write a research paper in German.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 hours ago, azspeedbullet said:

does bustime work on smartphones? i have it installed on my phone, whenever i try to use i get an error message that says check internet connection. my phone has good 4g signal, and other apps work fine.

Why would you have "install" it as an app when you can simply go to bustime.mta.info and use it within your browser? I have enough apps as it is hogging up space on my phone. I try to eliminate bloat wear as much as possible. 

[RailRunRob]

15 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Why would you have "install" it as an app when you can simply go to bustime.mta.info and use it within your browser? I have enough apps as it is hogging up space on my phone. I try to eliminate bloat wear as much as possible. 

Native Location and Notification services plus quicker caching.  Native apps have a lot of advantages, especially for location-based services.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

31 minutes ago, RailRunRob said:

Native Location and Notification services plus quicker caching.  Native apps have a lot of advantages, especially for location-based services.

Yeah but this is different though. If I just need to track the bus then I can do that on the browser. I have different apps that I use for things like seeing what time the express bus is due at a particular stop, etc.

[RailRunRob]

3 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah but this is different though. If I just need to track the bus then I can do that on the browser. I have different apps that I use for things like seeing what time the express bus is due at a particular stop, etc.

I mean yeah you can do that. You give users as many options as possible and with as much compatibly. From a UX standpoint a browser unless your already in it is more steps. Open browser,Bookmark or URL, browser location  permissions on top of finding the route your already more steps in then one tap on a icon and auto location now you can track buses from your location. Plus the possibility adding favorite routes and push notifications for service is already enough to differentiate native vs web apps. To each is own both work we build both types of apps I’m just making the case for native apps. True  Organization and storage might become a issue with a large number of apps.  Just feel the pros outweigh the cons In most workflows. shrugs.

[azspeedbullet]

19 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Why would you have "install" it as an app when you can simply go to bustime.mta.info and use it within your browser? I have enough apps as it is hogging up space on my phone. I try to eliminate bloat wear as much as possible. 

The browser version has very limited features compare to the bustime app. The bustime app has a map that you can see where the bus is on the route and any how many stops away the bus is. The browser does not have the map, it only shows how many stops away. To view the map, on my browser i have to request the desktop site. Requesting the desktop makes the browser very laggy and the interface is not suited for mobile devices.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

29 minutes ago, azspeedbullet said:

The browser version has very limited features compare to the bustime app. The bustime app has a map that you can see where the bus is on the route and any how many stops away the bus is. The browser does not have the map, it only shows how many stops away. To view the map, on my browser i have to request the desktop site. Requesting the desktop makes the browser very laggy and the interface is not suited for mobile devices.

What are you talking about? This is only true if you use the mobile version. The desktop version has everything that the app has. I've been using the desktop version before it was even available to the public so if anyone knows the ins out outs it's me.