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A Tech-Friendly TTC
The TTC just became even more user friendly. But this time it’s not the Transit Commission’s own doing—it’s the result of the work of Brian Gilham, a Toronto-based web developer (and former Torontoist contributor). Gilham’s new TTCupdates application informs riders of service disruptions via status updates sent directly to their Twitter accounts.
The concept is simple: TTCupdates tracks the Toronto Transit Commission’s RSS feed every five minutes and alerts its users of any new developments. Although riders can obtain this information directly from the TTC, TTCupdates consolidates the messages into one convenient location. To comply with Twitter’s maximum message size of 140 characters, the program uses a database of abbreviations to shorten all updates that exceed this length. For example, Broadview Station automatically gets shortened to BRDVIEW STN. Knowing his idea is not rocket science, Gilham notes that the application is supposed “to supplement what the TTC is doing at this point” and “to hopefully simplify it.”
Given the recent launch of the Next Vehicle Information System, Gilham admits that TTCupdates’ useful life may be short-lived. He also knows the service is beneficial only to those who have a data plan on their cell phones—Canadian mobile service providers no longer allow Twitter messages to be received via SMS messaging. But these issues did not stop him from trying to ease some riders’ commutes for the time being. In his own words: “I know the TTC is working on SMS features, so I don’t mean to step on any toes, but I figure this might be helpful while they get on their feet.”
TTCupdates can be subscribed to online at http://twitter.com/ttcupdates.
Photo by neuroticjose from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.