Would like to make bus users aware of a new transit app for the West Midlands.
The main focus of yourstop.info is to allow users find next arrivals at bus stops quickly and easily. Live predictions are given for most routes and buses can be tracked in real time in cases where operators make that information available. Relevant alerts are shown, recently viewed stops are automatically saved and favorite stops can be bookmarked
Completely free, no annoying adverts and easy to use, it works on both mobiles and desktop. Over 30000 stops and 89 operators are covered by the app
One question.
Does it work?
It does. Have you tried it and found problems ? If you did let me know, I built it and can fix it.
One things I can't fix though is bad predictions, just show the ETA I'm given
So what benefits does this app gave over TfWMs own app which also includes metro & trains or next bus which is uk wide.
Quote from: Steveminor on March 14, 2019, 08:22:01 PM
So what benefits does this app gave over TfWMs own app which also includes metro & trains or next bus which is uk wide.
The Network WM app seems to have an issue with updating location for me, if I leave it open in the background, travel somewhere on a bus then try to check times at a stop near where I am, it'll still think I'm at the location I last used it at.
Quote from: Steveminor on March 14, 2019, 08:22:01 PM
So what benefits does this app gave over TfWMs own app which also includes metro & trains or next bus which is uk wide.
It just presents information in a different way. All I would ask is that people try it and make their own minds up. There is no reason why there should be only 1 or 2 apps providing this type of information, in places like Boston there are at least 20.
In fact you could argue that this was one of the goals of tfwm in making the raw data open:
"TfWM continues to make data open to third parties who may wish to use it, as part of our
strategy to get good passenger information into the hands of as many existing and potential
customers as possible. These third parties can be mobile applications developers,
universities and even the general public. Indeed a project to make it easier for developers to
access our timetable and journey planning data through an API is currently underway. "
Anyone wishing to keep up to date on YourStop can now do so at
https://www.facebook.com/YourStop-485305331845608/
I plan in future on writing short tech articles on how various aspects of the system work and this is where they will appear.
And even though the post at
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=809794042730067&id=485305331845608
is primarily about the Irish system, the last paragraph has some background on NWM
Quote from: harringtonp on April 11, 2019, 04:50:57 PM
Anyone wishing to keep up to date on YourStop can now do so at
https://www.facebook.com/YourStop-485305331845608/
I plan in future on writing short tech articles on how various aspects of the system work and this is where they will appear.
And even though the post at
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=809794042730067&id=485305331845608
is primarily about the Irish system, the last paragraph has some background on NWM
@harringtonp I run the West Midlands Bus Users website (http://"http://westmidlandsbususers.co.uk"), if you'd like to pen a short promotional article I'd be happy to publish it for you there to give you a little publicity and promotion.
Quote from: Stu on April 11, 2019, 07:03:29 PM
@harringtonp I run the West Midlands Bus Users website (http://"http://westmidlandsbususers.co.uk"), if you'd like to pen a short promotional article I'd be happy to publish it for you there to give you a little publicity and promotion.
Thanks Stu, I've sent content through the contribute section on your website
Quote from: harringtonp on April 12, 2019, 10:33:08 AM
Thanks Stu, I've sent content through the contribute section on your website
Excellent, I've now published your article on my site, hope this helps generate some interest for you!
http://westmidlandsbususers.co.uk/2019/04/yourstop-a-new-transport-app-for-the-west-midlands/
A lot of work has been done with the downloading of stop lists in yourstop as described here:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.p...85305331845608
Previously downloading would have impacted NWM users on slower mobile connections but it should be much faster now.
Would anybody be willing to try https://yourstop.info out and verify that the NWM stop list downloads in a timely manner ?
You just need to click on either "Locate the Nearest Stops" or "UK-West Midlands-NWM" and see how long it takes before you can browse or search. If you are an existing user you may need to refresh your browser, the new version shows the percentage downloaded (which I plan on eventually replacing with a progress bar).
Quote from: harringtonp on April 30, 2019, 01:07:53 PM
A lot of work has been done with the downloading of stop lists in yourstop as described here:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.p...85305331845608
Previously downloading would have impacted NWM users on slower mobile connections but it should be much faster now.
Would anybody be willing to try https://yourstop.info out and verify that the NWM stop list downloads in a timely manner ?
You just need to click on either "Locate the Nearest Stops" or "UK-West Midlands-NWM" and see how long it takes before you can browse or search. If you are an existing user you may need to refresh your browser, the new version shows the percentage downloaded (which I plan on eventually replacing with a progress bar).
Hi it does load quicker now
@harringtonp
Quote from: I love Walsall buses on April 30, 2019, 10:08:48 PM
Hi it does load quicker now @harringtonp
Thank you, glad to hear this. And if anyone else comes across problems with it that are obviously app related please do get back.
I've downloaded it and am going to do a road test using it sometime this week.
Hopefully I shall be able to report back by Sunday
An update came into yourstop.info last night and all the west midlands metro data is gone (80 stops).
Can anyone throw any light on this ?
Covers many of the smaller operators too as shown in the list below. More information on yourstop can be found in the General Discussion forum at
http://wmbusphotos.com/forum/index.php?topic=5373.0
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Aimee's
Aintree Coachlines
Arriva Midlands
Ashbourne Community Transport
Astons Coaches
Banga Buses
Bennetts Travel
Boultons of Shropshire
Caradoc Coaches
Catteralls Coaches
Celtic Travel
Claribel Coaches
Clearway of Catshill
Cofton Coaches & Euro Liners
Community Transport Calderdale Ltd
Coniston Coaches
Corporate Express
D & G Coach & Bus
DRM Coaches
Diamond Bus
Discount Travel Solutions
Dudley's Coaches
Evergreen Coaches Ltd
Fastline Travel
Finesse Travel
First Potteries
First Worcestershire
Flexibus
George Young's Coaches
Grosvenor Coaches
Hatton Hidson Minor Munro
Hedgehog Community Bus
Henshaw's Coaches
High Peak
Hinckley Bus
Hollands Coaches
Hollywood Travel
Johnson's Excelbus
Kevs Cars and Coaches
LMS Travel
Lakeside Coaches
LandFlight
Let's Go
Lilbourne Community Bus
Lloyds Coaches
Longmynd Travel
Lugg Valley Travel
M & J Travel
Midland Classic
Minsterley
N N Cresswell
National Express Coventry
National Express West Midlands
Newent Shuttle
Notts and Derby
Oswestry Community Action (Qube)
Owens Motors Ltd
Pat's Coaches
R & B Travel
R.K.Travel
Regional Transport
Roberts Coaches
Sargeants Brothers
Scraggs Taxis and Coaches
Select Bus Services
Shipston Link
Stagecoach Midlands
Stagecoach South Wales
Stagecoach West
Stanton's of Stoke
Tanat Valley Coaches
Thandi Transport Ltd
The Green Bus Service
Travel De Courcey
Trent Barton
Villager Minibus Services
Walsall Community Transport
Wolverhampton University Bus
Wrekin Rider
Wyre Forest Dial a Ride
Yarranton Brothers
Yeomans Travel
Quote from: harringtonp on May 08, 2019, 04:58:49 PM
An update came into yourstop.info last night and all the west midlands metro data is gone (80 stops).
Can anyone throw any light on this ?
FYI, there were more updates over the weekend and the west midlands metro stops came back. And now they seem to have live predictions as indicated by the beating circle next to the departure time
There seem to be quite a few structural changes in the stop/route data and they are pushing out a lot of updates. I view this as a positive BTW
Enhancements have been made around how stops in stations are represented, Stourbridge is used as an example and it can be read about at
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/yourstop-gtfs-station-representation-paul-harrington
Other improvements around stop list retention can be read up on at:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=842425729466898&id=485305331845608
Next up in the pipeline (as a result of a suggestion by a user on here) is to place an icon on the maps which will take you back to your current position.
YourStop uses responsive design techniques so that it renders differently on mobiles and desktops. This concept has been extended so that on maximized windows on displays of width 1920px or more, it now uses the available space more effectively as shown below. The last trip viewed is now also highlighted
Following on from user suggestions, the trip layout has been changed so that the trip diagram is the default view. The diagram, map and detail are now shown in separate panes with buttons used to switch between them. This eliminates scrolling and gives faster access to the desired view. Font sizes and the amount of rounding on box corners has also been standardized.
Maps can now be kept centered around your current location.
https://www.facebook.com/485305331845608/photos/a.485361865173288/880660942310043/?type=1&theater
Quote from: harringtonp on July 26, 2019, 12:38:34 PM
Maps can now be kept centered around your current location.
https://www.facebook.com/485305331845608/photos/a.485361865173288/880660942310043/?type=1&theater
Thanks for that, this was one thing I found about your app that it wasn't as 'intuitive' to use as the NX or NWM apps, with regard to finding stops on the map.
Have encountered a lot of hurdles in the promotion of YourStop , it's all discussed at
https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-articles/91386/despite-open-data-has-the-travel-app-ecosystem-become-closed-off/
Back doing a bit of work on this. Safari bug affecting search fixed and minor improvements.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1234448300264637&id=485305331845608&__tn__=-R