9 ms·
There's a bus station across from my studio / coworking space. I can see people waiting for the bus and doing either: 1) staring into the void 2) looking at the
by gregsadetsky 7y ago
There's a bus station across from my studio / coworking space. I can see people waiting for the bus and doing either: 1) staring into the void 2) looking at their watches 3) desperately glancing in the direction where the bus is coming from.
I figured that it'd be nice to let people know when the bus is supposed to be there. So, I installed a 28" display on a monitor stand, installed the stand on my window frame, turned the monitor to face the bus station, and show the up-to-date arrival time in a very big font (the buses have GPS; the Pi gets the real time info from the local transit authority).
This is in Montreal. Some info here [0]. And a little video [1].
[0] https://greg.technology/#bus https://greg.technology/#bus
[1] https://youtu.be/pc16oPb5zW0 https://youtu.be/pc16oPb5zW0
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- dotmanish 7y agoThis is awesome work and thank you for doing this for public without asking. P.S. does the transit authority offer an API or is this prone to breaking when they change their page layout? [edit: I just read about the rumor on your webpage. Clarifies.]
- gregsadetsky 7y agoThank you! As many other transit authorities, the STM [0] offers "GTFS" data (a standard feed format for transit info) [1]. Mucking around STM's public site, you'll also see the schedule information go by if you inspect the network requests. From what I've seen, their API endpoints are stable, reliable and fast. I've had to do ~2 updates in >1 year of service. [0] http://stm.info/en http://stm.info/en [1] http://www.stm.info/en/about/developers http://www.stm.info/en/about/developers [ edit: that rumor is just a rumor :-) ]
- punnerud 7y agoIf you use MITMProxy or Charles you can easily intercept the traffic on 99% of all iPhone/Android apps (bit harder if pinned-sertificate). These API’s are often stable because a lot of users don’t update their apps that often.
- throwbaccAndy 7y agoFor newer android apps this is no longer true. By default, apps only trust system CA's. User added System CA's are not trusted by apps. I believe only the browser uses the user added CA's.
- punnerud 7y agoThat is why these systems generate their own certificate that you add to your phone, so you still can see the traffic. For MITMProxy you can visit http://mimt.it http://mimt.it when the setup is running. A bit more difficult with “pinned-setificate” where you have to: 1) Decompile the app (easy if you search for the online APK-download and APK-decompile tools) 2) Move the certificate out of the APK and use it for the traffic between MITMProxy/Charles and the server 3) Replace the certificate in the APK with one generated for MITMProxy/Charles, or just delete it if that works for the app (most likely not) 4) Re-compile the APK and install on your device 5) Run MITMProxy/Charles as before, just with some parameters to load the “pinned-certificate” (There is also a lot of guides for this. Maybe not for pinned-certificate.)
- popotamonga 7y ago1) decompile 2) remove the line that does the pinning (Easy to find) 3) recompile and sign 5 minutes
- KirinDave 7y agoIt can be crazier than that. App makers who work with important APIs often pin to specific certificates (not signers) so we have an one final absolute emergency measure to kill a version and force an upgrade when we have to.
- punnerud 7y agoThat is what I refer to as pinned-certificate. Not often used except from some of the biggest companies like Facebook and Snapchat. See my answer on how to go around this.
- m463 7y agoThat is a very kind thing to do.
- st380752143 7y agoIn China, they can get these bus message on a smartphone at mostly main city. The app would show the bus location and predict the time bus would reach according to the traffic status graphically.
- numbsafari 7y agoWe get this in the US in most major cities as well. But sometimes you don’t want to deal with smartphones and apps with bad UI developed by Fortune 500 firms for regional transit authorities, you just wish there would be a simple sign next to the stop that gave you 2 pieces of information: “BUS X IN Y MINUTES”.
- iagovar 7y agoWe have both in my city (Spain). The problem with displays is that sometimes they get too much light and you can't see that well. Also, the app has much more info than the display, and you don't need to be in the bus stop to know when the bus is going to be there.
- ezconnect 7y agoIn S. Korea most bus station have a display showing the current position of the bus and the estimated waiting time. Recently they are changing the display to show the bus stop remaining and removed the estimated time of arrival. Lots of people use app so when the bus is about to arrive the bus station will suddenly get busy and full of people.
- whalesalad 7y agoAwesome! This has reminded me of an old Heroku app that has been sitting idle for years: https://wmata-status.herokuapp.com https://wmata-status.herokuapp.com (before the Silver line, which is why the UI is all wonked now) I wanted to do something similar to try and reinvent the old/ugly/hard-to-parse televisions scattered around the DC metro.
- purplex 7y agoI believe the UI is great and will work perfectly on big-screens installed at stations. Kudos for making the app and such a nice UI.
- gregsadetsky 7y agoLovely UI, congrats!! You should definitely consider doing a 'gonzo' TV install somewhere in the city where you have access to power, wifi and shelter.
- whalesalad 7y agoThat’s a killer idea. Raspberry pi to the rescue!
- whytaka 7y agoAh, so that is your work! I always found it amusing.
- rockmeamedee 7y agoBig ups! I use this all the time in winter while waiting for the 55. I definitely assumed you worked at Ubisoft across the street! Btw, from some experience spending cold winters looking at it, it flickers a lot by having so many screen changes, making it tiring to see the screen change so much. L'AUTOBUS - SERA - LA - DANS - 5... - MINUTES - GREG . - TECHNOLOGY. It would be easier on the eyes if it changed less often. Thanks so much anyways!
- gregsadetsky 7y agoHa, small world :-) Agreed on timing, it could be better. I'll consider skipping some of the words + make them appear slower. Thanks for the suggestion!
- marci 7y agoBUS 55 - DANS - 5MIN ?
- paines 7y ago> This is in Montréal Official language is french. So Bus 55 is coming in 5 mins!
- gregsadetsky 7y agoAUTOBUS - DANS - 5 - MINUTES I think that makes sense, yeah. I would rather not flash other digits (55) as that could be confusing for someone who sees that number go by (was that the bus number or the number of minutes?) Thank you!
- StavrosK 7y agoYou guys don't do minute notation (5')?
- gregsadetsky 7y agoI don't think that it's as common to write or read I'll be there in 5' Also, since this is a sign seen from about 10-15 meters away, using an apostrophe might lead to confusion (it might not be clear to read). The aesthetics of the big flashing words are also intentional. Way, way back in my brain there was definitely [0] playing while I was creating this. :-) [0] * * * WARNING A lot of Flashing Lights! * * * https://www.yhchang.com/SAMSUNG_MEANS_TO_COME_V.html https://www.yhchang.com/SAMSUNG_MEANS_TO_COME_V.html
- boblebricoleur 7y agoYou, sir, are a modern-time knight
- INTPenis 7y agoIf the buses have GPS then Montreal should launch an app. They did that here where I live and now everyone can see where each bus is, live, on a map of the city. Best thing ever for us control freaks.
- gregsadetsky 7y agoThe transit authority did have an app, which they’ve pulled at some point (as far as I understand, they felt like they couldn’t compete with the level of transit info apps out there — which isn’t untrue). There’s also the Transit app [0] that is made in Montreal, so I guess that they (the transit authority) were happy to shine a light on that (pretty great) app. In any case, one of the neat things about the Pi sign is that it works for everyone (whether you have a phone or not), and is part of the urban landscape. You can use your phone for more important things, or just leave it alone a few minutes while you wait. :) [0] https://transitapp.com/ https://transitapp.com/
- vectorEQ 7y agoreally cool project man, props! bit strange they don't do this ,but i suppose Canada is A LOT larger than my country so perhaps it's harder to roll out decent services in all places :D very nice stuff though! the most annoying thing in the world to me is waiting on something without a clear indication of when the wait will end so you are doing a big big service to these poor people :D
- gregsadetsky 7y agoThanks! Some bus stations in Montreal do have small digital signs announcing the next departures. I’m sure those devices cost a bit of money and need to be serviced, so it makes sense that not all stations get them. (All stations do have a paper schedule which is neat, but isn’t real time info..!)
- paines 7y agoHow cool are you! Great idea.
- OJFord 7y agoblinks ouch, perhaps it's just my colour-blindness, but just fyi I can't read your site at all unless I highlight the text. Awesome public service with the Pi bus times though, love it!
- gregsadetsky 7y agoI sincerely apologize, I just relaunched my site and did not take that into consideration. I’ll definitely revisit this. Thank you!
- gregsadetsky 7y agoI just changed the site to use a plain background color. Thanks again.
- superhuzza 7y agoI live nearby and often use this when catching the 55! Sort of surreal to start reading your post and immediately recognize it's something from just a block away!
- gregsadetsky 7y agoThis is so sweet to read! Thank you!!
- galphanet 7y agoHey, I also take the 55 but I never saw the screen!
- gregsadetsky 7y agoThere's construction right now at the street corner, so they moved the bus station, unfortunately. I hope that they'll be done soon!
- ratsimihah 7y agoStop staring at your phone (kidding)
- jperras 7y agoHa! I live a few blocks from that corner. Always wondered who set that up and for what reason. Nicely done. Hopefully the construction there will end soon, too.
- gregsadetsky 7y agoThank you! So happy to see the response from Montreal (/ Mile End) HNers :-)
- MrZongle2 7y agoGreat job! This is an excellent example of being able to contribute to one's community with a small but nonetheless substantive project.
- horacio_colbert 7y agoYou, Sir, are a hero.
- lostlogin 7y agoGiven how this has been received, interspersed HN headlines will have to be added.
- illinx 7y agoI know this stop and have always appreciated your sign. Thank you +1!
- kriscius 7y agoIn big cities in Poland it's a common thing. Good job tho
- sAbakumoff 7y agoI am just wondering here - why does not the bus stop have the digital schedule set up? Is it normal for Canada?
- gregsadetsky 7y agoCanada's a big country :-) As far as I understand, local transit authorities in every city have the autonomy to decide how they spend their budgets. A digital sign is useful, but is it worth having one at every single stop, considering the cost to buy them, the necessary infrastructure (electricity, internet access), the support costs to repair/replace them, etc.? Also, paper schedules have been part of all stops here for a long time. Considering that the buses are pretty reliable, the paper schedule typically does the job. And you can always use the transit authority's website or one of the many mobile apps to see if there's an unexpected delay.
- sAbakumoff 7y ago>> but is it worth having one at every single stop, considering the cost to buy them, the necessary infrastructure (electricity, internet access), the support costs to repair/replace them, etc.? Well, I just don't recall when I saw a public transport stop that does not have the digital sign here in the Netherlands. The paper version is always provided as well. But I suspect that it works like this in large cities only.