Using MyBus from a WAP-enabled Cell Phone
(If your cell phone does not have WAP capability, but does do email/text-messaging, you can still use MyBus. Try the
MyBus SMS server.
Or, if you have some other type of portable, networked device with a web browser, go here.)
NOTE (10-07-2004):
We have recently made changes to the MyBus WAP access to deal with issues that
have come up with newer model phones.
Users with some newer phones were having difficulties navigating the MyBus site and were unable to get past the point of entering the location ID.
Many of these problems were caused by differences in the handling of 'soft keys' in these phones.
To get around these problems, the MyBus WAP site now works with either soft keys or with selectable links.
As a result, things may look a little different to MyBus users who have been using older phones (sorry for any inconvenience!).
However, MyBus should now be accessible to users with both older and newer versions of WAP phone.
Some other minor problems have also been fixed.
Comments and feedback are always welcome: wap@mybus.org
Quick Start for the Impatient
- Point your phone browser to mybus.org/wml/
- Select Go to Query.
-
At the Location ID: prompt, enter the ID number for your location.
- At the Route: prompt, enter the Metro route number of your
bus.
- Use the SEND soft key or link to send your query to MyBus.
MyBus will then display the predicted departure times for buses
leaving from your bus stop. The first part of each line is the trip
destination, so that you can tell which way a bus is going. An 'e' in
the leftmost column denotes an express bus. The second part of each
line shows the estimated departure times of buses at your location.
If MyBus is not able to estimate departure times, due to insufficient
information on current bus position, the scheduled departure time is
shown in place of an estimated time. In this case, an asterisk
replaces the usual colon in the time string (e.g., 3*45, instead of
3:45) to show that this is the schedule time and not an estimation.
Finally, a departed bus is shown as 3d45.
If you don't know the location ID, you can use the
FIND softkey option or link, to list the locations that
are available for your route. Select the one of interest. Alternatively, use
the map below to locate IDs.
For more complete information, read the following
description.
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Home Page and Query Form
The MyBus WAP home page is accessed via the URL mybus.org/wml/.
The home page lists three link choices (and three corresponding soft key
options). The first takes you to the query form, in which you will enter
your location ID and route number. The second takes you to a utility
that lists locations on your choice of route, so that you can choose
an appropriate location closest to your bus stop. The third link
gives some basic explanation of the MyBus service.
The query form requires two inputs: a location number and a
route number. The location ID is entered via a numeric value
which Metro uses to identify significant locations (called
timepoints). Location IDs are available
for timepoints only --- predictions at individual bus stops are
currently unavailable. Nevertheless, there are over 1000 timepoints
to choose from, so you should find a location near to your stop.
To find a location ID, you can click on the appropriate region of the
map below.
You may also find location IDs using your phone.
From the WAP home page, you can
select the FIND link (or soft key). You will then be prompted for a route
number. Enter the route that you are interested in, and then choose the SEND
link (or soft key). You will be sent a list of all locations on the chosen
route. NOTE: It may take more than one message to send you all the locations.
Look for a MORE soft key. This will request additional messages with
the rest of the locations. Once you find an appropriate location, you can
select it, as a link. This will take you to the query form, with the
location ID and route number automatically filled in.
Once you have entered a location number and route number,
select the SEND link (or key) and a new page
will appear, containing real-time predictions for appropriate buses,
based upon your chosen location and route.
WML Display
![[Image of MyBus predictions on a WAP browser]](./wmldisplay5923-72.gif)
The image left shows the presentation of MyBus predictions on WAP
browsers. The title bar of the deck states that the predictions are
for route 72 buses (in all directions) departing from location
UNIVNE45, which is a short encoding of the location University
Way NE and NE 45th St, a busy intersection near the UW. Each
subsequent row shows a prediction about a single bus. Express buses
are denoted with an e in the leftmost column of the
display. The next 8 characters in the row show the destination of that
bus. Thus in the image shown, the two Lake City bound buses are both
express buses, while the two Downtown bound buses are not. The
estimated departure time from the chosen location, UNIVNE45, is
then shown to the right. For the first row, the estimated departure
time is 7:10. Thus the full meaning of this row is that a
number 72 bus, headed Downtown, is estimated to depart from University
Way NE and NE 45th St at ten minutes past seven.
When no prediction can be made (due to insufficient bus location
data), a * character replaces the : character in the
time string, and the time shown is that of the scheduled departure
time. The second row shown in the image, Downtown 7*30 is such
an example. No predicted departure time is available for the
7:30 bus to Downtown Seattle, so the scheduled time is
annotated with the *.
MyBus also shows buses which have already departed, so that at least
you know you have missed your bus. In this case, a d character
replaces the : in the time string. For departed buses, we have
chosen to show the actual departure time, rather than the scheduled
departure time. In the image, a Lake City bound express bus departed
at 7:04. Another one is estimated to depart at 7:20.
Actions
When viewing the real-time prediction data, two actions are available.
The phone's two soft keys show actions GET and NEW.
The GET action provides a
one-touch refresh of the predictions from the server. Prediction data
is never cached by the browser, so you can be sure that a GET
action will always show the very latest predictions.
The NEW soft key option returns you to the query page,
to enter a new location or route.
Click on the regioned map below for lists of Metro timepoints and their
associated numeric values and short names.
![[Clickable image of King
County divided into 8 regions]](/images/king_county.gif)