When realtime information was first available from my public transit system, it was via an SMS system that was widely advertised at every bus stop and train sta

When realtime information was first available from my public transit system, it was via an SMS system that was widely advertised at every bus stop and train station, wherein each received a five-digit ID code. So you'd text that code to a special number, and it'd reply with the "NextRide" timings. Unfortunately, it was wildly inaccurate. Every time I queried it, it said the bus had already left (I'd been standing there 10 minutes) or it didn't take into account active detours, or something. The only thing it was good for was determining the headways between buses (15, 20, 30 minutes?) and then you could at least calculate your longest wait at that stop. The next iteration involved installing the bespoke and quite buggy app provided by the transit authority themselves. Now this theoretically depended on the same GPS trackers in the coaches as the SMS system had. But I had major troubles with the app, and I didn't like it, and it barely did anything else, and so I uninstalled it. And I did without it for a while longer. Now the app is improved, and it's got QR pass technology included, so I reinstalled it, and I use it more. But, for tracking the buses, I prefer Google Maps. Our transit authority graciously shares 100% real-time tracking info with Google, and you can track any bus in Maps, including crowdsourced info, such as "How crowded? Is security aboard?" It works really well, and really accurate; displays every delay and updates by-the-minute as buses or trains pass each stop. Sometimes I pass the time just sitting there and watching my bus make its way down the street.