As more public transport operators understand the benefit of open access to their movement data, users can create their own systems to extract and benefit from the information available. A few people have done this, and one example by Instructables member MrRorschach uses information from the BART in San Francisco to create an indicator advising the user of the best time to leave for the station.
The feed from the operator is accessed via a php file on a local server, which is parsed by an Ethernet-enabled Arduino to determine the time of the next departure. With this information, and the time taken to walk from the indicator to the platform - the Arduino can indicate with LEDs whether or not it's a good time to leave.
It's a clever yet simple system, and can be used for other systems if the data is available. For more information visit the project Instructable page. And for more, we're on facebook, Google+, and twitter - so follow us for news and product updates as well.
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