Know When the Metro is Arriving Before Entering Station

• July 10, 2009
• 10 Comments

by Mark Wellborn

Technology that tells riders when the next Metrobus or Circulator is arriving is old news. However, what about an application that lets people know when the next Metro train is arriving at a certain stop…before they enter the station?

The website echodittolabs.com is reporting that an application is now available for the iPhone that will give the times of the next arriving trains at stops in DC, Maryland and Virginia. Here is a link to what the application looks like. The site noted that the first iteration of this technology, Meenster.com, “vanished from the scene” about a year ago.

Unfortunately, we do not own an iPhone, so we can’t try out the new service. If you are trendier than us and can test it out, let us know how it works in the comments section.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/know_when_the_metro_is_arriving_before_entering_station/1120

10 Comments

1. Liz said at 12:51 pm on Friday July 10, 2009:

   That service has been available directly from WMATA for a good long while now.  http://www.wmata.com on your mobile device.

1. Chris said at 1:00 pm on Friday July 10, 2009:

   Liz is right, but this new website is a bit more streamlined.  Is echodittolabs putting out an application or will it just be this website?

1. U said at 1:06 pm on Friday July 10, 2009:

   Sounds like this app (like the WMATA website) just pulls info from the published train time tables.  Obviously trains sometimes run a few minutes ahead/behind schedule—THAT is the information that people care about / need in order to avoid just missing a train running ahead of schedule.  And it is something that only WMATA could provide (not sure if it is technically feasible).

1. Hugh said at 1:17 pm on Friday July 10, 2009:

   This app is much improved and more streamlined than older versions, but unfortunately it is just available for iPhones now.

1. Tim said at 2:29 pm on Friday July 10, 2009:

   Hugh,

   This works fine for the Blackberry, too. Just put http://echodittolabs.org/wmata/#_metro in your browser. Presto!

1. shiv said at 8:51 am on Monday July 13, 2009:

   I’ve been going to wmata’s website using my iPhone, this is much better (less to load).  It’s not an app, it is a website, and it is not the train time tables, it is the real time arrivals (the same information you see standing on the platform).

1. MetroTime said at 9:11 am on Monday July 13, 2009:

   Agree with shiv. This is a new and improved version of what they had been offering. Much easier to use.

1. Tom Veil said at 9:39 am on Monday July 13, 2009:

   Another way to do this WITHOUT an iPhone is to text the name of the station you’re departing from to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

1. JP said at 1:27 am on Wednesday July 15, 2009:

   Glad folks are finding it useful - as Tim mentioned, this isn’t an app (yet) and should work for any CSS2-capable mobile browser. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

   I’m a regular red line rider, and I find it tremendously useful. Moreso when AT&T rolls out metro service later this year!

1. jq said at 9:30 am on Thursday July 16, 2009:

   On the iPhone, using the WMATA website at http://www.wmata.com/rider_tools/pids/real_time_arrivals.cfm works great for me. It uses actual train arrival data, not timetables.  It’s actually the same data you see on the platform information signs.

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