By: Sean Healy
TXT.2.ETS is a project that @joeljackson and I (@seanhealy) have been running for the past six months. When you text us a bus stop number we send back the next few buses that will arrive and when. We also provide a twitter interface that functions the same way; tweeting a stop to @etsinfo will get you an @reply with the busses that will be arriving.
TXT.2.ETS’s Number: (858) 779-4952
While there are apps available for smartphones to accomplish similar tasks smartphone adoption, is still relatively low (about 15%) so this makes transit information available to a lot of other users. Also, even on a smart phone it can sometimes be a faster way to quickly lookup an unfamiliar stop.
Our project has inspired a lot of talk with in ETS itself about supporting an SMS interface officially.
We also provide an API for others to build apps upon so they don't have do host or maintain their own GTFS backed database. Our API is being used to power another apps·4·edmonton app: http://bit.ly/cpNJxj
There is more info about TXT.2.ETS and our API at: http://sn.im/txt2ets
Christian
I use this app all the time. It's brilliant and simple and it is the fastest way I've found to get info for your stop number. Great job guys!Matthew Dance
I love the low tech niche - anyone with a flip phone can use it too!Jackie
This is the best thing to happen to ETS. I use this app multiple times throughout the day, and it is extraordinarily useful in determining what time I need to leave my present destination in order to get to my next destination. It's easy to use and MUCH faster than calling the ETS number. I'm surprised this hasn't been implemented as a permanent service for ETS; I hope it will be in the future.Jacqueline
I love this. I use it pretty much every time I take the bus beyond my usual route to work. It's so much simpler and faster than calling buslink, and it works even on the most un-smart of phones.