finally, an NJT app for iphone

Those of you with iPhones, check out iTrans NJT in the App Store. It was just released yesterday and has full schedules and a trip planner for NJT. It's also got the RiverLINE, but no NLR or HBLR for some reason.

I wonder if NJT is publishing this or someone with too much time on their hands.

newarknj76 wrote:I wonder if NJT is publishing this or someone with too much time on their hands.

I was thinking the same exact thing. It seems odd that they would not include the HBLR.

It'll be nice if they get this linked up to GPS. Imagine the possibilities...you're standing on the platform at New Brunswick waiting for a late train, and really want a Dunkin' Donuts coffee. You can just look at your iPhone to see if the train is a minute away or whether its stuck at Midway.

Also, has anyone noticed that some of the buses have recently been fitted with GPS-like monitors above the driver's area? Could it be....?

Some of the 37xx buses have GPS, which is occasionally working when I see them on the 108. It lists the next stop and the one after it, in addition to the route and time.

Rutgers does this for buses too, and presumably NJT's trains already have GPS. Theoretically, though, the train is coming unless there's an announcement or the board lists X mins late. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be willing to warn you if a train is, say, 3 mins late (which would be helpful in the case you described). I guess if the threshold were that low, every train would sound an alert.

ryanov wrote:Some of the 37xx buses have GPS, which is occasionally working when I see them on the 108. It lists the next stop and the one after it, in addition to the route and time.

Rutgers does this for buses too, and presumably NJT's trains already have GPS. Theoretically, though, the train is coming unless there's an announcement or the board lists X mins late. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be willing to warn you if a train is, say, 3 mins late (which would be helpful in the case you described). I guess if the threshold were that low, every train would sound an alert.

There was an episode of Top Gear in Japan where they rode the bullet train. The threshold for "late" is 20 seconds.

ryanov wrote:Some of the 37xx buses have GPS, which is occasionally working when I see them on the 108. It lists the next stop and the one after it, in addition to the route and time.

Isn't it a bit odd that NJ Transit would put this system in its oldest buses. I'm surprised the system was not rolled out with the New Flyer "accordion" buses or the MCIs. The Flxibles are the bus division's equivalent of the Arrows...old fashioned and reliable yet definitely showing their age.

I find it even more surprising that the 108 bus line still exists. It seems quite redundant with rail and PATH service. For the most part, the 108 line serves areas within walking distance to Penn Station or the Harrison PATH. Even with a local bus connection, going via Penn Station is probably faster than this bus. Why hasn't this line shared in the "cuts" of late?

ryanov wrote:Rutgers does this for buses too, and presumably NJT's trains already have GPS.

All Comet IV, Comet V and Multi-Level cab cars have a GPS system built into them. The rear-most cab car is the coach in the consist that controls all the on-board visual and audio announcements. This is why when you have a Comet III cab car mixed with other equipment there are no audio announcements. If you have a Comet III cab with a buried Comet IV or V you might get the visuals but audio is hit or miss.

Also, a side note: You know if you have a Comet IV cab car because the final station announcement doesn't give you the whole song and dance about terrorism and safety, while the Comet V and Multi-Level cabs do.

Finally! I was wondering how long this would take.

Please note this app is like 5 frickin' bucks. Why is that needed when you can almost as easily pull up njtransit.com? I guess if you're a daily rider and highly value convenience... but njtransit.com still has all sorts of other things like train status and delays as well as updates or other modes of travel. I really don't see much value in paying several bucks for something that's easily available for free.

On AT&T's miserable excuse for me, it's worth five bucks to just have to tap a station to see all the trains leaving it in either direction, rather than having to (slowly) nagivate njtransit.com.

moveonrp wrote:

ryanov wrote:Some of the 37xx buses have GPS, which is occasionally working when I see them on the 108. It lists the next stop and the one after it, in addition to the route and time.

Isn't it a bit odd that NJ Transit would put this system in its oldest buses. I'm surprised the system was not rolled out with the New Flyer "accordion" buses or the MCIs. The Flxibles are the bus division's equivalent of the Arrows...old fashioned and reliable yet definitely showing their age.

Odder to me is that they put it in place and don't use it. The 108 is a good place for it anyway, as the schedule is frequently not on target. But then, they do this on their rail cars too. Theoretically there was supposed to be a systemwide setup for GPS at one point, though I bet it's not too likely they'd put it on the web, just on LED signs that were supposed to be put up at least in Newark. No sign of it yet.

I'm guessing these were a smaller scale test. PS: those are not New Flyers but Neoplan.

moveonrp wrote:I find it even more surprising that the 108 bus line still exists. It seems quite redundant with rail and PATH service. For the most part, the 108 line serves areas within walking distance to Penn Station or the Harrison PATH. Even with a local bus connection, going via Penn Station is probably faster than this bus. Why hasn't this line shared in the "cuts" of late?

The bus is faster if you're going to transfer to another bus at PABT or are going somewhere right in that vicinity or higher up. I wish NJT had a GWB bus. Not exactly the proper forum to be discussing this on, but I can say as a frequent rider of the 108, I can understand why it exists. End-to-end it doesn't make much sense (though I've taken it), but there are other markets to some extent. It provides service from the Colonnade Apartments and Pavilion to Penn Station, and there is express service from those places directly onto 280. It also gives the Ironbound access to NY without backtracking all the way to Penn Station. Beyond that, service to Union City really isn't provided at all in Newark except on that line, and about 10 people per trip seem to use it. Lastly, I've used it many times late at night when traveling to NJ from NY via Grand Central. I would miss it if it went, though I suspect I'm not the traditional rider.

NJT does have some GWB bound buses, but they mainly serve Bergen County.

In a surprising move, it seems that SEPTA has GPS on nearly all of it's buses. A voice will call out time point stops. Some center city bus shelters have information signs indicating the next bus. And although not directly related, but SEPTA's online trip planner includes minute by minute time points along the route.

Errr, I meant "Newark" not "NJT." No simple way to the GWB from here by bus without maybe going via Hackensack or Hoboken.

I bought this app and unfortunately it is deeply flawed. It does not handle connections, which, on many lines, are crucial. For instance, it says that the latest MSU train from NYP is 1121, missing the 1234 departure with connection at Broad St.