Category Archives: Technology

Caltrans announces QuickMap, new online tool for real-time travel and traffic information

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I like the ability to quickly see freeway information signs. Here’s the news release from Caltrans:

SACRAMENTO – Caltrans today announced it has launched Caltrans QuickMap, an
online service that provides California motorists with real-time traffic
and travel information that will allow them to make better decisions about
how to reach their destination more rapidly.

To access Caltrans QuickMap, visit the Caltrans site at quickmap.dot.ca.gov
.

“A wide range of useful information is now easily accessible to help
motorists avoid congestion and reduce their travel times,” said Caltrans
Director Malcolm Dougherty. “This exciting innovation delivers real-time
data so travelers can adjust their routes to get where they’re going as
quickly as possible.”

Visitors to the online interactive travel map can access nearly 1,000
freeway cameras and more than 700 electronic message signs on highways
statewide. They can also monitor traffic congestion, California Highway
Patrol incidents, travel time information, lane closures due to highway
roadwork, and Amber Alerts. Other helpful features of the service include
chain control information and color-coded traffic speed displays for
freeways statewide.

Go Metro Mobile App Update for iPhone and Android – Download Now!

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A new version of Metro’s mobile app for iPhones and Androids is available for download! Go Metro Los Angeles v2.2 is a significant update with new features and technical upgrades. Some of the new features are described below.

Download from App Store Now
Download from Google Play Now

Android & iPhone

Go Metro v2.2 for iPhone

Go Metro v2.2 for iPhone

  • Mode specific icons for Bus and Rail
    Now when you click the Nearby feature, you’ll see separate graphic icons denoting Bus Stops vs Rail Stations.
  • “Refresh” arrival times for Bus Stops
    Let’s say you’ve favorited your most used Bus Stops (by clicking the Start button in the toolbar). Now by clicking the ‘Refresh’ button, revised Nextrip arrivals times will display on command.
  • Station amenities for Rail Stations
    There is a new button in the Rail Stations screens that will display detailed information about a station, including the number of bike lockers, bike racks, free parking spots and paid parking spots.
  • Save a Trip Planner itinerary and view offline
    Now when you save an itinerary, you’ve saved it offline onto the device and may view it without internet connection. This is useful if you are traveling in our Rail system or when internet connection has dropped.
  • User Interface updates for all versions
    Small user interface updates to make the app more pretty and consistent in the News and More screen :)

Android Only

  • When installing the app, Android customers can choose to save the app on a SD Card rather than the device
    The app is not huge, per se, but the scheduling data that supports the app is. This feature is a response to customers who have older Androids (or devices with tons of apps) that were filling up memory-wise and this option allows the customers to decide where they want to install the app.

iPhone Only

  • View Stops / Stations nearby me on a map or a list
    A feature already in the Android version, a new button allows you to view the closest Metro stops/stations visually on a map or a text list. Some customers are accustomed to viewing a map, some customers appreciate a list.

Check out some screen grabs after the jump!

New features & goodies on metro.net

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Hello Source readers, its been a while since I’ve updated you on metro.net happenings and new stuff — well, here they are, enjoy!

Interactive Maps & Infographics!

A few new interactive maps and infographics have been added to Metro’s website, the maps use Google Maps API and are usable on desktop, touchpads and mobile devices.

The Go Metro Interactive Map (an update, not new) has been updated with the new Expo and Orange Line, new stations, revised bus connections and more customer amenities such as parking, bike lockers, and bike racks. The map also links each station to Google Maps and YELP for destinations and recommendations near each station.

Go Metro Interactive Map

Go Metro Interactive Map

Continue reading →

New Go Metro app now available in iTunes store for iPhone

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The Go Metro app finally landed in the iTunes store and is now available for free download for iPhones. The app is also available for iPads.

The app has also been available for Android smartphones in the Android Play store since late last month.

Here’s our post from last month explaining the many new features on Go Metro, Version 2. And here’s the news release posted on metro.net.

Please download the app and let us know what you think.

Go Metro Android update with Expo Line added, and iPhone app update

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Go Metro app in Google Play

Go Metro app in Google Play

[UPDATE] The Android app update is available for download NOW (!) from Google Play.

As many of you know, the new Go Metro smartphone app recently debuted in the Android store — here’s a Source post about the app’s many fine features. Since then, we’ve received some great feedback and have already submitted an update for the Android app. The update will include:

  • Adding the new Expo Rail Line to the transit data
  • Allowing the app to install on the SD Card, rather than the mobile device (just the app, not the database. We’ll work on allowing the database on SD card for June — in time for the Orange Line opening).
  • Performing an internal storage check before installing the app and database (this will save you a crash when you try to launch the app but there isn’t enough space on your device).

iPhone / iPad

As for iOS, we’re working to get the iPhone version of the app to the public as soon as possible. As of today, we’re still working on final technical revisions with the Apple Store’s technical staff. It’s a day-to-day process, but we hope to have this resolved soon.

Thanks for your interest and enthusiasm and we can’t wait to get you the app!

Metro launches new smartphone app — Android available now, iPhone and iPad next week

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Go Metro for Android - Nearby and Nextrip screens

Go Metro on Android: Nearby feature and Nextrip data integrated into bus stops

[UPDATE] We’re still working on the final technical revisions with the Apple Store’s Tech / QA group. Its a day-to-day process, but we hope to have this resolved soon. Thanks for your enthusiasm and we can’t wait to get you the app.
– Lan-Chi Lam (Metro Web & Mobile Manager)

The wait is almost over — after extensive beta-testing, Metro’s new app is available in Android Play (formerly Android Market), and will be available in the Apple App Store next week. The new app – built from the ground-up – is called Go Metro Los Angeles, and is available for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices.

Metro’s first app was a chance for the agency to dip its toe into smartphone technology. This app, however, is a full-fledged effort to marry technology to transit and to make it easier for people to quick get the information they need to travel around town.

Full feature description and more screen shots can be seen on metro.net, but here are some highlights:

  • The app is free and is available for download NOW(!) in Android Play, and the Apple App Store next week.
  • The new app was built new from the ground up and will run on Android devices running OS 2.1 and up. On the iPhone and iPad, iOS 3.1 and up is required.
  • The new app can quickly access your location via your phone’s GPS and then show you the closest bus and rail stops. Want the phone to show you, for example, transit stops within 100 feet, 300 or 500 feet of your current location? Just select the distance in the app’s preferences.
Go Metro for Android - Nextrip and scheduled arrivals

Go Metro on Android: Nextrip bus arrivals and scheduled rail arrivals

  • Tap a transit stop on your map and the app will show you Nextrip real-time bus arrival information (if you’re on a cellular or wi-fi network) or scheduled rail arrival times. Not on a cellular network or wi-fi? You still will get a list of scheduled arrival times. By the way, we anticipate that Nextrip real-time rail arrival times will be available later this year.
  • Plan a trip from your location. Metro’s Trip Planner is integrated into the new app. Users can also “favorite” an itinerary.
Go Metro for Android - Trip Plan and Alerts

Go Metro on Android: Plan a trip from your location and select an alert

  • Users can download up to 170 different maps of bus and train routes as well as a bike map — and the maps can be used even when you don’t have any kind of internet connection. If your downloaded map has been updated by Metro, the app will send you an alert so that you can re-download the map within the app.
  • The app allows users to set up and receive alerts for Metro bus and rail, as well as road closures. Service Alerts, Planned Advisories, Destination Discounts, Fare information, Customer Center locations and Lost & Found info are integrated in the app. Alerts and notifications may be turned on and off in the app’s preferences — it’s up to you to decide what you want to receive.
  • Users can save a transit line, bus stop/train station, map or itinerary for fast access. It’s easy to remove and edit your favorites list in the settings part of the app.

Metro wants your feedback and comments to make the app better. Please use our online feedback form. You can also use the app to email Metro’s tech team any bugs you find — this can be done in the “More” section of the app. The app automatically collects your app and OS version to help Metro troubleshoot the problem.

iPhone screen shots after the jump.  Continue reading →

Technology + Bike = Secure Bike?

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Next time, lock up the entire bike

Photo by billaday via Flickr

In a recent NPR – Marketplace story, travel writer Patrick Symmes talks about an experiment he’s conducting with bikes and GPS trackers — you see Symmes has had seven bikes stolen, and he’d had enough! In a lengthy write-up for Outside magazine, the journalist attaches GPS trackers to ‘bait’ bikes planted across San Francisco and Portland (think LoJack). The man waits to catch his thief.

Full disclosure: I am by no means a biker, and I wouldn’t cry if my current bike got stolen (its a hoopty). But the story left me wondering if this isn’t a business opportunity for some brilliant, enthusiastic, bike entrepreneur? Necessity is the mother of invention, so I ask you Los Angeleno bikers:

  • How ‘high-tech’ have you gone to secure your bike?
  • What is the price point of a bike where you would invest in a ‘security’ system?

Though the author’s experiment leaves him with mixed results, he’s remains optimistic, stating – “This is a war of attrition.”

Like the police, we can and must resist, even when it’s futile. I’m still pimping around Portland on Bike Six, my little black IRO, with 11 pounds of chain wrapped around my waist and hex nuts on my wheels. All the partial solutions—a national bike registry, better serial numbering, more secure parking, GPS trackers disguised like bells and reflectors—are getting better. We aren’t going away.

Reminder: Metro offers Bike Lockers for rent in many Metro Rail and Orange Line stations. Check our Bike Metro section for full info on Locker Rentals, Bike Maps, and the Bicycle Roundtable.

Listen to the audio after the jump…

Continue reading →

New RSS feeds on metro.net, subscribe now!

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RSS icon

RSS, baby!

A handful of new RSS feeds have been added to Metro’s website for subscription. The new feeds can be found on Metro RSS Feeds and join existing feeds for The Source, El Pasajero, Metro News Headlines, Metro Library Transportation Headlines and Metro Library Primary Resources.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication – it’s a web technology that allows content to be published and syndicated for online consumption. Content driven websites (blogs, news sites, image and video sites, and web 2.0 / 3.0 sites) commonly offer this feature as a means to distribute or ‘syndicate’ their information. If you’ve seen the little orange icon with waves, you’ve been to a site with an RSS feed.

These new feeds were created by metro.net’s Lead Developer, Doug Goodwin; while the Jobs feed was created by Metro ITS.

A run down of the new feeds

Metro RSS feeds in a mobile browser

Metro Board / Committee Meetings - Current listing of Board and Committee meetings. (Board meetings and Agendas are posted at the beginning of each month with revisions to Agendas as-needed.)

Metro Job Opportunities – Current listing of job opportunities at Metro.

Destination Discounts – Current listing of participating discounts in the Metro Destinations Discounts program.

Planned Service Advisories - Up-to-minute listing of Planned Service Advisories. There’s actually four feeds here: Bus, Rail, Special or All combined. You can subscribe to your mode of choice or subscribe to them All. (A Special Advisory is one that may affect multiple lines and/or multiple modes.)

Step-by-step instructions on how to subscribe to a feed after the jump.

Continue reading →

Notes on Metro technology

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Lan-Chi Lam is the Interactive Design and Strategy Manager at Metro. She will be writing occasional posts to update readers about Metro’s use of technology to communicate with our customers.

Mobile Web

As of December 2011, 30 percent of all web traffic visiting metro.net came from a mobile device (smart phone, cell phone, touch pad). With roughly one million visits per month, this equals approximately 300,000 visits to the site from small devices. Why the surge? Unless you’ve been living underneath a rock for the last few years, you already know its hard to deny the disruptive and immersive beck and call, er, ding and beep, of a mobile device.

I’ve been following our mobile trend for sometime and initially it was about iPhones (iOS) but once Android entered the market, there was a noticeable dramatic shift — especially this year, the Android take-over was fast and furious.

What devices are Metro customers using to visit metro.net?

  • Android – 58%
  • Apple (iPhone, iPad, iPod) – 37%
  • Blackberry – 4%
  • Others – 1%
Chart: mobile breakdown from Dec 2011

Mobile devices visiting metro.net, Dec 2011. (iOS devices are a similar orange)

Continue reading →