PDX Bus is a free iPhone application designed by public transit advocate and software developer, Andrew Wallace.
TriMetiquette, a site about Portland’s transit system, spoke to Wallace about the project.
Why did you decide to make this iPhone app?
(1) I wanted to have fun writing an iPhone app – I write software for a living, but this is completely different from the device-level software I write at work. Given that TriMet provides an interface for the data, I thought it would be fun to see if I could make it display better on the iPhone. Initially I assumed that someone else would have written one first, but I didn’t see one.
(2) I thought it would be nice to give something back to Portland, and so I made it free (which also made it feel less like work).
(3) I ride TriMet every day and often change my route if MAX is late or a bus didn’t come, so I needed an application like this.
Wallace also notes that “it’s amazing” that our local transit authority has a developer web site.
