The NYC MTA seems to have done an about-face from "you can't have any data, and we'll sue you if you do get it" [1] to opening up their data and holding app contests:<p><a href="http://mtaappquest.com/" rel="nofollow">http://mtaappquest.com/</a><p>I'm still waiting on a real-time train schedule API, but they've come a long, long way.<p>[1] <a href="http://iplj.net/blog/archives/1346" rel="nofollow">http://iplj.net/blog/archives/1346</a>
You might be interested in the Walk Score Transit API. In addition to surfacing a "transit score" for a given area, it also provides a simple RESTful way to get stops and routes at a given lat/lon:<p><a href="http://www.walkscore.com/professional/public-transit-api.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.walkscore.com/professional/public-transit-api.php</a><p>The Walk Score API is built on top of the GTFS Data Exchange web site and APIs. GTFSDE is a clearinghouse for the latest GTFS data worldwide:<p><a href="http://www.gtfs-data-exchange.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.gtfs-data-exchange.com/</a><p>(Note that raw GTFS from agencies is often quite buggy -- the Walk Score API does a ton of work to clean it up and fix errors.)<p>Finally, the City Go Round web site and API surfaces apps that make use of transit (and other local) data:<p><a href="http://www.citygoround.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.citygoround.org/</a><p>Hope these are interesting for you!
I don't know why transit agencies don't just open-source and make available the raw data they have. Often I see them trying to put together "apps" or some such gizmos, when the reality is, if they just made the underlying raw data available (in a reliable manner), someone will come along and build apps for them on their own dime. The transit agencies would rather spend money hiding the data, and then more money building some crappy app, than open the data and get all the labor for free. They just don't get this whole "open-source" thing.
Considering that you have a picture of a Seattle bus on your blog post, I'm surprised you didn't mention OneBusAway.<p>The sad irony is that Seattle is most likely going to lose its best source of near-real time transit information because the author is going to work for Google on Google Transit: <a href="http://onebusaway.blogspot.com/2011/06/future-of-onebusaway.html" rel="nofollow">http://onebusaway.blogspot.com/2011/06/future-of-onebusaway....</a>
Very interesting article. I am currently working on a project called opentimetable.net, providing tools for the community to collect timetable raw data, something similar to openstreetmap (osm), but for timetable data. Actually, the project is tighly connected to osm as I am pulling static infrastructure data from osm which is already available or is becoming available sooner or later (stops, lines, etc...). Within opentimetable.net, the user can then enrich that data with timetable information. Of course, data will be available to the public. I already cooperating with some german transit agencies.. I hope to get other agencies involved in the future. I have also implemented a route planner for public transit data which I will put online once a minimum of data is available...
This seems to be pretty "complete": <a href="http://code.google.com/p/public-transport-enabler/" rel="nofollow">http://code.google.com/p/public-transport-enabler/</a><p>It's used by Öffi (<a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=de.schildbach.oeffi&feature=search_result&hl=en" rel="nofollow">https://market.android.com/details?id=de.schildbach.oeffi...</a>) AFAIK.
London is getting sane after a start when they didnt get it. <a href="http://www.tfl.gov.uk/businessandpartners/syndication/default.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.tfl.gov.uk/businessandpartners/syndication/defaul...</a><p>There is a lot of data, producing a coherent model across different places will be hard, for a comprehensive model.
The TTC (Toronto) has been pretty good about this, especially lately. Initially releasing real-time APIs for our streetcar routes and now every single bus route has realtime, GPS based methods.<p>Info found here: <a href="http://toronto.ca/open/" rel="nofollow">http://toronto.ca/open/</a>
There is a website scraping based API for realtime data in for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area here:<p><a href="http://metrotransitapi2.appspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://metrotransitapi2.appspot.com/</a><p>Source is on github