[tolidano]

Shameless (in-progress) plug: https://yamtam.nyc

I find the NYC public transit system to be one of the most interesting in the world. Beyond the subways and LIRR and Metro North (which are covered by the MTA's app), there are literally dozens of other transit providers: Nassau bus, red bus, Suffolk bus, NJT, PATH, HBLR, Roosevelt Island Tram, and a shocking number of smaller targeted transit providers, as well as specialized transit modes like Citibike. No app, except maybe Citymapper, comes close to representing it all.

But Citymapper was acquired, by Via. A company who makes money when you don't choose public/mass transit. So that doesn't make me feel too good. Also, Citymapper doesn't work well offline.

Another important thing is that accessibility and alerts are regarded as very 2nd rate citizens on other apps, and for various reasons, I think these should be easier to see.

Enter my little tool. It has a long way to go, it doesn't do navigation very well (it's my own implementation of a weak algorithm), and doesn't work across modalities. But it does tell you the upcoming trains at stations (using the real time data), along with all the accessibility info, and alerts for the station and line. And links to complex maps, neighborhood maps, and more. And it can map schedules for the entire network 30 minutes into the future (2 hours for LIRR and Metro North), meaning you can go into airplane mode and it will keep working. Additionally, I have found it updates faster than other apps, as it is continually polling the MTA APIs.

[timnetworks]

A map with arrival times is all that is needed, this is great. Routing also doesn't need to be fancy, departures can be locked to actual stations and the transfer station is the only bit of info needed if it's not already a one-train trip. People who use buses generally know their own feeder lines and that's it, and they don't need to see them again.

This is great.

[zaptrem]

What are your thoughts on Transit app? Seems to cover the different systems pretty well IMO.

[tolidano]

I feel like Transit does a pretty good job. I don't love the UI, but it's a personal preference. CityMapper was my go-to for years, and still is if I need something specific that I don't yet handle. But one day, I hope mine is sufficient to never require another app.

[k4rli]

What's so interesting about it?

[tolidano]

The sheer scale combined with the density combined with the mismanagement and history, as a few examples. I imagine if I lived in London or Paris or Tokyo I'd probably feel just as partial to their unique intricacies. I was recently in Milan and found their public transit system similar and equally interesting. The fact that entire lines were created and then summarily removed, only to be rebuilt decades later in some cases, or turned into green space in others, continues to surprise me.