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[on:]

Hello,

I've written a library to get info from TfL's countdown website about the next buses arriving at a given bus stop and so far it works in my bus stops... however, with one bus stopping there, it isn't much of a challenge.

Would anyone be willing or interested in giving this a try and find some bugs or stuff to improve?

[Reply #1 on:]

Surely it can't be that much of a trek to a bus stop that serves multiple routes. I presume you also need a WiFi connection at the stop to download the info. Find a stop near a McDonalds. They have free Wifi in their restaurants for customers. You will have to purchase a drink for them to tell you the access code. Hopefully, their WiFi will operate (for a short distance) outside their premises so that you can also see the bus stop.

[Reply #2 on:]

I presume you also need a WiFi connection at the stop to download the info. Find a stop near a McDonalds.

Or avoid the golden arches entirely (my personal favourite approach), and enable "Portable WiFi hotspot" on your Android phone.

[Reply #3 on:]

I presume you also need a WiFi connection at the stop to download the info. Find a stop near a McDonalds.

Or avoid the golden arches entirely (my personal favourite approach),

Mine too, but 'needs must where the devil drives'  and you only have to purchase a drink, not consume it!

and enable "Portable WiFi hotspot" on your Android phone.

That's if you have an Android phone.

[Reply #4 on:]

Hello,

Sorry for disappearing, but actual work and school took me away from this.

The purpose is not to know when the bus will arrive when I'm at the stop, but to know that before I leave home. Obviously I can download an app for Android or iOS that does that or just go online to TfLs countdown website, but having an LCD displaying that for me is a lot better than using a high end device. Also, I don't have a UK phone number, so data roaming is a big no-no for me.

Also, because I am taking the data from TfL directly there's nothing I can actually do if the data is wrong and I miss the bus. So testing at the bus stop is unnecessary. However, it would be nice to get someone to have a look at it and point out the problems with it.
So far, it doesn't behave nicely if the telegram is broken, but I haven't gotten to look into it, and for the next month that will be impossible (ship ride in the South China seas and no wired Internet at my South Korean apartment).

So if anyone interested can have a look at it, it is here:

https://code.google.com/p/tfl-buses/

Please, test and comment on better ways of implementing it and/or any bugs you may have noticed.

To find the bus stop you want to monitor go to http://countdown.tfl.gov.uk/#/, enter the bus stop name and the bus stop code will be presented there.
The results are updated every 30 seconds (according to TfL), so polling faster than that will only do worse.

Thank you for the interest.