Auckland Transport “Track My Bus” App
[Update 4/2/2015: Added my trial feedback in the last paragraph..]
Auckland Transport is finally on their way to modernizing their public transport buses for commuters by releasing a “Track My Bus” app for Android and iOS! This app actually tracks your bus in real-time, with all the map markings and so on, but unfortunately, it doesn’t have an app for Windows Phone users; Sorry guys!
Previously, Auckland Transport had a “Real Time Board” on its Auckland Transport app, but it only showed the estimate time to when it would arrive at your stop, and didn’t show where the bus was in real time. Plus, it was hard to distinguish whether the ETA was “real time” or whether it was an “estimate” because they couldn’t reach the bus for an ETA.
This app was only released two day’s ago, so there will probably be some bugs. For example, on my Nexus 5, “debug mode” is always on in the app, and there is no way to permanently close it, but I’m sure a quick email to the developers should see that fixed in no time!
Once you install the app, you can save your favourite bus routes and stops, and see the bus’ progress along the way as well.
With the Track My Bus app you can:
• Save multiple bus stops and bus routes to track
• See in real-time where your bus is on your favourite routes
• Track your bus progress from 10 preceding stops
• Tells you when a bus has arrived or already gone.
I will give this a try tomorrow (in real time) and see how it goes!
Update 4/2/2015: So today I gave the app a test, and it worked really well for an Auckland Transport app! The bus I was catching showed up on the map, with jittery updates of the bus’ location every 5 or so seconds, and reached my stop just as the marker on the map reached my destination! So well done to Auckland Transport and their developer for making this app worthwhile and useful!
Also, there was an update for the app tonight, and the “Debug mode” has since been removed from the app screen on Android. Good news all round! Hopefully it will be all improvements and no downgrades from now on!
To download the AT Metro Track My Bus app for Android, please visit:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ionicframework.athopapp712769&hl=en
For iOS, please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/at-metro-track-my-bus/id934638916?mt=8
