Good news for Penn State students tired of standing in the cold, wondering when the next White Loop is going to show up: There's an app for that.
Released late last year, the new bus-tracking iPhone application from the Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) has already has been downloaded 3,039 times, said Andrew Herman, co-owner and lead developer at software company Appek LLC.
The app displays the real-time locations of CATA buses through Google Maps, allowing users to check bus schedules, locations and the closest stop from their current position from their phone.
Appek LLC, a software development company founded by two recent Penn State graduates and specializing in iPhone apps, approached CATA about developing a mobile version of the Web site for the iPhone.
Adam Ceresko, co-owner and project manager at Appek LLC, saw the opportunity to provide a service to the State College community.
"We wanted to see what we could do by taking the features from the web and putting it in an iPhone app," Ceresko said.
CATA currently tracks the location of every bus and displays that route information on realtime.catabus.com. The Web site updates bus locations every 30 seconds on the map and alerts users to any significant delays.
"The entire fleet is capturing data constantly," said Eric Bernier, service development manager at CATA.
Users can view this data online, outside of the CATA office, 108 E. Beaver Ave., or on the digital marquee signs at the bus stops by Pattee Library.
The app allows the iPhone to display the same real-time information available online at CATA's Web site in mobile form. Users can select which routes they want to view, track the buses with live updates every 30 seconds and view the full bus schedule for each route, as well as customize which routes they want, Herman said.
Katie Trexler (sophomore-nutrition) downloaded the app while waiting for the White Loop and said it would be helpful, even though she hadn't figured out how to use it yet.
CATA's app is compatible with both the iPhone and iPod Touch, but works best when connected to the Internet.
Without an Internet connection, only the static text schedule for each route can be viewed.
