MBTA? There’s an app for that

Navigating Boston's public transportation system is now as easy as a trip to the App Store, according to digital creative designer Josh Thomas.

Thomas, a 2010 College of Communication graduate and former associate art director of the advertising agency Digitas, launched a new iPhone application called Excursion Boston on Aug. 11, 2010. The program, which costs $2.99 at the App Store, tracks T buses in real time and lists scheduled times for the subway.

Thomas said he decided to create the application while waiting for the Green Line in December two years ago.

"I was standing on the tracks freezing my butt off," he said. "I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if I could track the trains?'"

He said he theorized that the MBTA used GPS to track buses and trains. He said he felt that dispersing such information could benefit him and other riders, so he decided to contact MBTA officials.

PHONE TAG

Thomas said he initially achieved little success in his attempts to reach the MBTA.

"I had no connections, I had nothing," he said. "After about six months of incessant calling, I worked my way up to a person in public relations."

Thomas eventually came in contact with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Developers Team, which had started an initiative to release real-time data to the general public. During a Nov. 2009 Developer's Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MassDOT announced the release of a real-time data feed for five bus lines.

"I wasn't the only one asking for this kind of data," Thomas said. "This kind of movement started."

MassDOT Director of Innovation and Special Projects Joshua Robin explained that live tracking information was previously available only in their operating room. He said this realization launched the MassDOT initiative to publicize real-time data, expanding from five lines in November to all lines this summer.

"It's kind of crazy that that information [was] on a screen and not in the hands of our riders," Robin said.

Real-time tracking information is accessible through the MassDOT Developer's Page, he said.

Robin said MassDOT dismissed the traditional three-step approach of transit information distribution (building tracking signs at stations, creating a consumer application themselves and releasing information to the public) in favor of an inverse method known as "3-2-1." With this method, the MBTA made tracking data available to the public first so private developers could disperse consumer applications faster.

"Within an hour, someone had built an application with that data," he said. "We're a public agency. We're a little slower."

He said building one sign at a bus stop is complicated, especially when planning for possible damages.

"It costs a lot of money, it takes a lot of time to do that," he said.

CONNECTION COMPLICATIONS

Once MassDOT released tracking data for the T, Thomas soon discovered that not all vehicles are tracked equally. While buses are located through GPS, trolleys are a different story, he said.

"The Green Line goes underground, so GPS would get lost," he said. "We track using scheduled data for the Green Line."

He said the MBTA keeps track of the Green Line by using walkie-talkies.

"It is the most inefficient system ever," he said. "I would love a GPS on [the Green Line]. The MBTA, for security purposes, doesn't like hardware wired to their trains"

Robin said the MBTA is looking for a solution to the GPS problem.

"A system like that is very complicated," he said. "They're actively working on it."

Despite hang-ups with the Green Line, Thomas said that real-time tracking of the Red Line is already underway and should be included in Excursion by September.

DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING

As designer of Excursion, Thomas said he dealt with the visual aspects of the application. He first created mockups and sketches of the program, including icons, he said.

"I turned those into Photoshop files," he said. "Every part of it was fully drawn out. From there, we did a few more tweaks with the visuals."

Thomas' business partner, developer and former IBM programmer Brian Leonard, had experience with the technical side of iPhone applications, Thomas said. Leonard developed an algorithm to illustrate real-time tracking of the T on their application, he said.

To launch Excursion, Leonard and Thomas founded the company Wonderland Development. The company offers several iPhone applications, including an earlier version of Excursion called To-a-T.

Thomas said he was able to work on Excursion while he attended classes at BU and worked for Digitas.

"I'm pretty good at multitasking," he said. "I was working 50 hours a week at Digitas. I got pretty good at balancing my workload."

Thomas said he sometimes found it difficult to prioritize when dealing with schoolwork and outside projects.

However, he said he thinks any student who develops a project idea while still in college should pursue his/her idea.

"It's very doable," he said.

CALLING ALL INNOVATORS

In addition to Excursion, several other tracking options are available to Boston consumers.

For those without iPhones, the MBTA website features free services, including T-Alerts and T-Tracker. By subscribing to T-Alerts, riders receive notifications of transit delays over 15 minutes. The alerts can be accessed through email or via text messaging.

The T-Tracker Trial Program allows riders to calculate real-time arrivals of bus routes 39, 111, 114, 116 and 117. Tracking information can be obtained through the MBTA website and the T-Tracker phone line.

Robin said MassDOT will be releasing its own iPhone application soon as well.

Additional iPhone applications include MassTransit, developed by the company Sparkfish Creative, and Catch the Bus, developed by Thickfuzz.

MassDOT does not back any one developer's application, he said.

"We really believe in the power of the market," he said. "We want developers to be competing. We want them to keep them innovative."

Robin said MassDOT conducts regular developer meetings, but otherwise has no formal involvement with them.

"Beyond that, we get out of their hair," he said. "We kind of want to unleash their imaginations."

Thomas said he plans to expand Excursion further based on how many downloads occur this month.

"The next step would be the "While I Wait' feature," he said."While I Wait" would indentify nearby coffee shops where riders could wait for incoming buses and trains, he said.

He said he also plans to create an Android application for Excursion within the next few months.

"I think they're going to like it," he said. "The city is our playground at BU."