patching...
Breaking: Jogger Struck By School Bus Tuesday »
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

Metrobus Schedule: No More App for That

The popular bus arrival time app has gone dark.

 

 

NextBusDC, a smartphone app that had been tracking the arrival times of Metro buses for users since 2009, has quit working, according to a Washington Post story.

The app, which is the end product of a partnership between NextBus—a company that tracks transit system data, and AppTight, which makes the data user-friendly in an app format, stopped working on Dec. 20, according to the In The Capital website.

In The Capital reported that a contractual relationship between the two companies “ceased,” with NextBus receiving only three days’ notice and AppTight no notice at all. AppTight’s Kelly Beener remarked that only the data feed to the DC app has stopped, and the San Francisco version continues to function.

NextBus’ Ken Schmier told The Washington Post that he has “received 7,000 complaints about the service ending,” and expects the app to be back online within about a week.

Metro chief spokesman Dan Stessel said that Metro is neither involved in the dispute nor an official supporter of the app, but mentioned that the same information is available on Metro’s website.

At the time of writing this article, the NextBus DC app was not available on iTunes or via the Google Play store.

Related Topics: Dc, MetroBus, Transit, Wmata, and smartphone app

Tamika Smith

9:34 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013

This app is most useful for people during the winter and hot summer months. Why did it have to take complaints for Metro to move forward on reinstating this app?

Reply
Comment_arrow

Harvey Wallbanger

10:24 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013

Not cool metro! Isn't the app a source of revenue for metro? Don't they charge the app maker to share the NextBus data? I wonder how long they will take to get the data flowing again... if it's shorter than a month I'd be surprised.

Comment_arrow

jag

11:48 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013

Doesn't this have nothing to do with Metro? "Metro chief spokesman Dan Stessel said that Metro is neither involved in the dispute nor an official supporter of the app"

One Percent BIKER

12:07 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013

I realize how ancient it may seem but can't you just call the number? You must not be too terribly busy if you're waiting for a bus.

Reply

Queen

12:59 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013

This article isn't quite right. The Nextbus service is still working, it's just the app that's not. Why pay for an app when you can get the same info for free by pointing your phone's browser to nextbus.com?

Reply

Leave a comment