iPhone Bus Tracking

iPhone bus tracking icons

Last April, Ars Technica had a nice write-up comparing CTA Tracker and Buster, the two native iPhone apps that interface with the CTA’s bus tracking system. Since that article appeared, developers have released new versions of both applications, and the CTA has expanded its services to include all regularly scheduled routes, and made some improvements to its CTA Bus Tracker site making it slightly more usable on the iPhone itself. I thought it was worth taking a look at the current applications, and whether or not the CTA site on it’s own is good enough to stand on its own while browsing on the go.

Both CTA Tracker and Buster sell for $0.99 and offer the same basic features, albeit with somewhat different approaches.

Bus routes versus bus stops

The interesting thing about bus tracking is that even though these services use real-time bus information, it’s kind a misnomer to think of the end-user as tracking buses.In most cases, you’re really looking for information about a particular stop, and when buses will reach that stop.

If you’ve used the CTA Bus Tracker web site, you know that finding your information requires drilling down, first by route, then by stop, then by direction. Both CTA Tracker and Buster try and simplify this process a little bit, in slightly different ways.

CTA Tracker allows you to drill down by route, see a list of all stops in the city, or map your location. Buster offers drill down by route, and also allows finding your location through both a map, and a list of nearby stops.

Route Selection in CTA Tracker (left) and Buster (right)

The applications handle route selection similarly, although Buster has the handy feature of sorting by route name as well as number, so if you know there’s a Lincoln Avenue bus, but can’t remember that it’s #11, you don’t have to pour through the listings to find it. (Advantage: Buster.)

Finding Nearby Stops in CTA Tracker (left) and Buster (right)

Both applications offer stop mapping, but CTA Tracker’s implementation is a little smarter. If you tap on a stop, you get the stop’s name, which may or may not reflect its geography. Both applications take you arrival information if you double tap on a stop. (Advantage: CTA Tracker.)

Arrival information

Arrival Information in CTA Tracker (left) and Buster (right)

Although these screens appear quite different, CTA Tracker and Buster both allow you to selectively look at particular routes, particular directions, and arrival times. But CTA Tracker always gives you all the information, just sorted differently. Buster selectively omits information (such as other routes, buses going in the opposite direction, etc.). On the one hand, this selective omission makes it easier to find information at-a-glance in Buster. On the other hand, sometimes you really do want to see all of your options laid out and not have to click from screen to screen to find the bus you need. Really it, comes down to a matter of preference, and for myself, I find that sometimes I prefer one approach, and sometimes I prefer the other. (Advantage: neither, although Buster gets points for elegance.)

Neither application offers the arrival information feature at the top of my wishlist: The ability to see all arrival information within a geographic area. Should I wait on Taylor Street for the 38 or walk to Roosevelt for the 12? Should I take this eastbound Addision bus from Ashland to the Red Line Station, or board the northbound X9 Ashland Express instead? With the current applications, I can’t answer these questions without a lot of taps.

Favorites

At first glance, CTA Tracker and Buster take very similar approaches to adding and managing favorites, but they are subtly different.In CTA Tracker, you define favorite stops, and tapping that favorite takes you to all the arrival information for that stop. In Buster, you define favorite routes linked to a stop, and tapping that favorite takes you speficially to arrival information for a particular route at a particular stop going in a particular direction.

Here again, sometimes I really want it to work one way, and other times I really want it to work the other. (Advantage: neither.)

CTA Bus Tracker Web Site

With these great applications, why would you ever need to visit the CTA Bus Tracker web site on your iPhone? First of all, it’s free (albeit a little clunky in a mobile browser). Second of all, it provides a rather useful piece of information that CTA Tracker and Buster inexplicably omit: bus numbers.

CTA Bus Tracker Site on iPhone. Note the bus numbers under the arrival inforamtion.

Why are the bus numbers useful to know? Two reasons:

1. Suppose you regularly board a bus at a route’s turnaround or resting point. You might encounter two or more buses from the same route. Knowing the bus number enables you to make sure you board (or chase) the bus leaving soonest.

2. While you’re on the bus, you can look up arrival times for your destination, and get at least a ballpark idea of when the CTA expects the bus you’re on to get there. This can be extremely helpful information, particularly when you’re meeting someone or on your way to an appointment.

Summary

Both applications have improved in response to feedback and competition, but like Ars Technica a few months ago, I’m hard pressed to declare one as substantially superior over the other. I own both, and use both regularly. But if you want to choose one app for your hard-earned dollar, I’d pick based on how you use buses most of the time. If you usually stick to a small set of specific routes and stops, and rarely choose among bus options, Buster probably gets the nod. If you use buses more expansively, and often vary your bus choices based on expediency, CTA Tracker might be the better bet.