SEPTA Info on your Phone

Fellow Rail nerds,
When you ride SEPTA, what apps do you use, if any, to get travel info (Real-time, trip planning, schedules, etc.)? Did you know that SEPTA has a SMS service to get scheduled bus and subway arrival times? If so, do you use it? Also, if any of you use the current SEPTA app, I am curious to hear your thoughts/complaints/suggestions about it. Personally, I mostly use Google Maps and the Transit app, along with SEPTA's mobile website. I sometimes use the current SEPTA app to see real-time vehicle positions. One important note, SEPTA is already working on improving their real-time vehicle location data.

Your post reads like one of the SEPTA surveys. I do trip planning on my own and do not rely on any of the apps. SEPTA's tracking data is hit or miss and not a good idea to rely on it at this time.

I use SeptaDroid, which seems to work a heck of a lot better than the official app.

R3 Passenger wrote:I do trip planning on my own and do not rely on any of the apps. SEPTA's tracking data is hit or miss and not a good idea to rely on it at this time.

Ditto here. I've ridden since the 1980s and have figured out most of the quirks and "gotchas" in trip planning. Also what the apps suggest isn't always what I prefer, for various reasons (cost, rails versus buses, nice scenery, whatever)

Trip planning is done by timetable.
Real time info is by trainview/septa official app.

SCB2525 wrote:I use SeptaDroid, which seems to work a heck of a lot better than the official app.

I used to use SeptaDroid before the official app came out, but this app has not been updated since 2013. For bus location info, I use SEPTA Instant. For Regional Rail, I use TrainView, but it is useless on the Trenton Line.

Yet, I wish they could extrapolate the TrainView information onto a map, even if the location info is not accurate to 20 feet like GPS.

hgondilon wrote: When you ride SEPTA, what apps do you use.
Also, if any of you use the current SEPTA app, I am curious to hear your thoughts/complaints/suggestions about it.

I use the SEPTA app while traveling.
Choosing new origin/destination pairs gets tedious for both train and transit so I rely on the "Favorites" and "Recently Viewed" options.
To cover for the limitations of "TrainView", trains are started and advanced on the map according to their schedule until a real location report is received.
I've watched trains on the map depart an outlying station and advance for ten minutes until the actual (late) departure is logged; then it starts all over again.
Train times shown on the app are sometimes a minute different from the printed schedule.
A final annoyance, the app continually advises that new schedules are available, even after the latest ones have been installed.

anyone use Baldwin.ph ?

I've used it rather than the Septa app, and it has always been accurate and worked for my purposes.

jmatchesky wrote:anyone use Baldwin.ph ?
I've used it rather than the Septa app, and it has always been accurate and worked for my purposes.

Yes, that's my go-to for regional rail..

I use the septa app to find approximate bus and trolley locations. Desired features:

- show even short temporary service suspensions as soon as you know them. If I could know that there's a broken-down trolley on a single-tracked section and the estimate for it to be dragged out of the way is 45 minutes, say, I could walk to alternative transportation.

- show ETA at my stop as accurately as possible even if the vehicle is running ahead of schedule.

I use Trainview and the SEPTA Instant Android app.

i use septa instant. I prefer the way NJ transit , departure vision better . Because you can actually see where you train is, and the real delay time.