Application Idea:Transit Rider

I ride the bus everywhere in Seattle. One mobile app I use regularly is One Bus Away. It tells you how minutes away, in real time, your bus is until it arrives at your current stop.  It works very well, but it’s designed from the perspective that you’re waiting for the bus to arrive. It doesn’t work so well for planning the trip, or how long until you arrive at your destination, once you’re en route.

That’s where the Transit Rider app would come in. It’d be a single solution for people who ride the bus, and eventually subway/light rail riders. Ideally, it’d do the same functionality as One Bus Away. However, You’d also be able to plan your trip, select the starting stop you like best (because there could be multiple options), then tell it when the bus picked you up. The mobile application would then estimate your arrival time. This could be a fantastic app if designed correctly.

Given the complexity of it, it wouldn’t be possible to create a working prototype for a Startup Weekend project. However, it could be mocked up with static assets and an associated business model. When it comes time to build it, then you’ll need a Java developer to support Android, and an objective-c developer to support iPhone / iPad. It’ll make heavy use of  APIs on the server, so you’ll need some great server-side software developers.

This is a project that should be made. it needs to be made which is why I’m writing about it. If you do decide to make it, You should start by developing it for Seattle on Android first. Worry about the iPhone/iPad experience after you’ve worked out the Android experience. That way I can be a tester for you. :)