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TFI Live - Real Time Transport Planner App

  • 01-03-2022 6:11pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭


    So happened to come across this today when checking the play store for what the TFI Go app update entailed.

    There is a new app called TFI Live UAT currently in public early access testing (not sure if it was intentionally made public or not).

    Seems to be a combined replacement for the TFI Journey Planner & TFI Realtime apps.

    Seems to be a much nicer experience overall compared to the Journey Planner app, however it is clearly still in its testing stages - it's missing certain features present in the other apps (i.e. live bus positioning) and funnily enough, the about page still shows dummy text!


    Post edited by devnull on


«13456

Comments

  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 11,684 Mod ✭✭✭✭devnull


    The NTA are currently working with Trapeze Group, who designed the iBus system in London and provide the technology that powers other TFL related systems in that city.

    This app is part of that partnership, but it's not finished yet and is in testing and some things are not finished. It does however distinguish between live and scheduled buses, as the later are now flagged.

    Live bus positioning does appear you'll need to look for a green bus like below. May need to zoom in for it to appea.




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    "Live bus positioning does appear you'll need to look for a green bus like below. May need to zoom in for it to appear.”

    Ah, must have just not been appearing on my end for some reason.



  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 11,684 Mod ✭✭✭✭devnull


    It's not terribly intuitive to be honest, when I was at default zoom level I couldn't see it, just a load of bus stops, but when I zoomed in a little bit to roughly where I felt the selected departure might be, it appeared like above



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    Yeah I see it now when you show a specific service on the map. Doesn't seem to show all buses on the main map from what I can see though.



  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,980 Mod ✭✭✭✭bk


    BTW UAT means User Acceptance Testing

    And Lorem Ipsum is common dummy text used as a placeholder until the client sends you the final copy text.



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  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 11,684 Mod ✭✭✭✭devnull


    If you go to timetable section for a route you can see all buses on a route. Might need to zoom in though as previously stated.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,526 ✭✭✭dublinman1990


    I notice that this app had been updated on Google Play on the 23rd of March 2022. Was there any major changes done to the app UI since that date.

    Also how long does the UAT last for this app?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    Thread bump here - just after getting this notification to sign up for the beta version of this app, so some progress at least.




  • Registered Users Posts: 53 ✭✭D8 boy


    I got that notification too and emailed them but heard nothing back. Did you hear back from them ?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    I haven't heard anything either as of yet



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  • Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 26,403 Mod ✭✭✭✭Peregrine




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,442 ✭✭✭embraer170


    The TFI app is quite a disaster compared to similar apps available in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh




  • Registered Users Posts: 53 ✭✭D8 boy


    I got an email from the NTA on Thursday about Beta Testing of the TFI Live app. It said that testing had been delayed but they would be in touch shortly with details.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,490 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    I've found that RTPI info is completely unreliable these days so that new app (which I have installled) and the TFI 'Real Time Ireland' app are currently giving info which is completely unreliable.

    I was at the bus stop at Donnybrook church the other day at about 11 p.m. Three buses shown on the RTPI display (39A, 46A and 145) which were originally coming in 3, 7 and 12 minutes just never showed up.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,917 ✭✭✭✭LXFlyer


    Again, as I mentioned in another thread there was a serious with the Dublin Bus RTPI system for several weeks recently as, due to a software glitch, it was only displaying the scheduled times rather than applying the predictive times to the GPS position of the bus.

    It was resolved last week and appears to be working normally once again.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    Had reason to use the 133 today. Checked the TFI Live app out of interest and it shows vehicle location along with direction, nice to see! The current realtime app doesnt have this functionality for bus Eireann services. Also shows for expressway services (at least it does for the 2). However, on my version of the app, the timetables for the 133 are very disorganised. Hopefully that's something which will be fixed for the official release.

    As an aside, I also gave the TFI Go app a try for my ticket, since I rarely get Bus Eireann, and it also worked great.




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,917 ✭✭✭✭LXFlyer


    When did they send out the Beta app for testing?

    Didn’t see any emails about it.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    I never got the email about the beta, I'm still using the UAT version. The "early access" version is the one available on the play store now.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,917 ✭✭✭✭LXFlyer


    Ah it’s the Android version! No bother.

    Nothing in the iPhone App Store yet.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,526 ✭✭✭dublinman1990


    I came across a small bug on this app when I got an update from Google Play Store today.

    If I click on the option for Rail in the favourites list. It comes up as an invalid request. This issue does not occur when searching for live real time info for the bus routes. Ironically if I click for real time info for Rail on the timetables list. The live info for the DART times comes up as normal.

    If I click on GAI's Dublin City Routes in the favourites list. I get an orange triangle with an exclamation mark to say it is for UAT.

    I do not get that orange exclamation mark when viewing the live info for Dublin Bus.

    That particular issue has been there for the past few months. Very strange.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    Update on this, app is going live soon (I assume on the 22nd given the Realtime Ireland app is discontinued then 😅). Seems it's happening in tandem with the NTA GTFS API upgrade, which makes sense.





  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,833 ✭✭✭thomasj


    Looks like it's released




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,917 ✭✭✭✭LXFlyer


    One would hope that the DB app will continue for the moment, given the ongoing reliability of information issues with the TFI apps.

    Even this morning they were giving incorrect information for the route I was on, displaying the scheduled arrival for certain buses instead of the actual live times. Meanwhile the DB app was correct.

    This is still a real problem with the TFI app.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    The "early access" version of the app has been available for a while now on android, I've been using it for a good few months now. Seems it was updated on the 11th to "release" standard so that there isn't any issues on launch day?

    Yes I still see some issues present in the app myself.

    Sometimes the map screen refuses to pan, or if it does it's very miniscule movements no matter how much you swipe.

    Also, the stop realtime seems a bit of a downgrade... It doesn't show if a service is delayed and the text is all one colour, so for e.g. if a service is cancelled, on the old app it'd show in red, but here it's the same colour as all the other text.

    The app seems to be fixing some issues with the old app, but then reintroducing various different issues!



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,917 ✭✭✭✭LXFlyer


    That’s a downgrade if the delay isn’t shown. The iPhone version is live now too on the App Store so I will try it out later

    They do have a list of things they’re working on:



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    As per usual, some mixed messaging... The in-app announcement says the new app is available now, whereas the official announcement says coming soon!




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,021 ✭✭✭✭breezy1985


    The old app never showed "delayed" time in Limerick.

    One trick I noticed on the new one is (scheduled). On the old app any bus route I use without the GPS symbol was not to be trusted. On the new app any bus that says (scheduled) is probably cancelled.

    The new app from the limited time I have used it is the exact same. Doesn't address any of the problems I had with the old one.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    Pretty much yeah, added some new features (that are indeed welcome) but didn't address all the issues with the old one



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,917 ✭✭✭✭LXFlyer


    A lot of those issues would likely be down to the actual systems used by the bus companies, and won’t be addressed until completely new systems are implemented.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭p_haugh


    Articles being posted about this now, with some comments from the NTA included:




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,263 ✭✭✭bobbyss


    I downloaded it today and can't get my head around some of its features.

    My initial feedback is that there is too much info on the screen. I just want to check on the status of my bus. Is it late? When actually is it due. That's all really. I don't want to know about walking distance between X and Y. I don't want train timetables, just the bloody bus.

    Does anyone know if you can rename a favourite? (Mind you I found it difficult to find and log in my favourites in the first palace. It also took ages to load. The old TFI app it came up immediately.



  • Registered Users Posts: 910 ✭✭✭brianc89


    This new app, which I downloaded a while ago, is extremely poor on interchange.

    The lack of a clear "Search" button is beyond me.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,083 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    The search features look pretty clear on my phone:


    And




  • Registered Users Posts: 910 ✭✭✭brianc89


    This is what I see when I open the app on my android. I just find Dublin Bus app far more intuitive.


    Dublin Bus app:




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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,165 ✭✭✭Citrus_8


    I agree, the new app is not intuitive at all. Dublin Bus app design is horrible, but even that it better than the new TFI app's design which says it all.

    Seems that it wasn't discussed with the potential users, nor tested for a better user experience. It's just made for the purpose of the functionality, but design sadly wasn't a part of consideration. This app is still much worse than the Trafi, Moovit or Citymapper even 7 years ago. To be honest, someone who designed it doesn't have experience in public transport.

    Colour scheme is boring. Lack of map integration. Poor use of screen space. App has no future. User has to be a technical thinker rather than a visual person for this app which is a terrible approach for this type of an app. Very bad start.

    I find Trafi to be spot on. Moovit too man ads. Citymapper is a fun to use app. Google maps is a great basics for a quick look up for the journey options.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,083 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    I use the app pretty much daily.

    Search is secondary : once I've found my regular bus stops (which was easy / fast, using the map-search feature) and marked them as favourites, they are they thing I want to see 95% of the time when I open the app. It does just that - and yes, it did let me rename them in the list.

    Now, it may be different for infrequent users, but they are not the main audience of an app like this. Regular commuters are.

    Not quite sure where the lack of map integration claim comes from: I see a map in the journey planner and one in the bus stop search. Both use openstreetmaps.

    And colours are boring. Well yeaah, it's public transport. Interesting to a few bus-geeky types. Boring as **** to the vast majority.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,165 ✭✭✭Citrus_8


    Just have a look my other mentioned apps and you will understand what I mean about the user friendliness, map, colours and everything else. TFI Live new app with design and functionality is still behind by at least 5 years! (realistically, 10 years, but I'm just trying to be lenient and positive here). This app is not good and only people who haven't used alternative apps can be happy about this poor app.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,021 ✭✭✭✭breezy1985


    It doesn't really matter how good or bad it is.

    As long as the GPS tracking on the buses is still sht no app can be relied on. Buses disappearing and reappearing all the time (I assume it's when an engine is switched off). Still routes with no GPS at all.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,074 ✭✭✭xper


    Downloaded it this evening to my iPhone 11. There is something unintuitive and dull about the design alright, it certainly isn't attempting anything cutting edge or novel, it looks like something a hobbyist developer would have produced 10 years ago.

    When you tap on a stop in your Favourites list to open it and then tap the left-pointing arrow icon at the top-left of the screen which everyone in the world knows means take me back to the previous screen, it takes you to the Departures screen. WTF?

    You can rename a Favourite stop when first saving it but apparently not edit the name once you've created the Favourite. Why the limitation? There's an item menu right there attached to it in the Favouritrs list but no Rename option on the menu.

    But the biggest complaint I have is the size/style of the font on the list screens. I can barely read this damn thing. Are TFI aware of the EU Web Accessibility Directive? Did they test it against all screen sizes?



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  • Registered Users Posts: 910 ✭✭✭brianc89


    The app is absolutely for regular users but it's the capital city. There are thousands of people in the city everyday for short-term work, leisure and tourism. You can't say it shouldn't be aimed at these groups.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,021 ✭✭✭✭breezy1985




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,324 ✭✭✭bikeman1


    Are the live positions of the buses gone? Can’t see any on mine. Or do I need to add that feature?

    How hard is it in a country of app developers, that we are left with this ****?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,439 ✭✭✭StreetLight




  • Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 26,403 Mod ✭✭✭✭Peregrine




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,917 ✭✭✭✭LXFlyer


    To get the live positions for Dublin City:

    • Go to timetables
    • Enter the route number
    • Select the direction you require
    • Click on “Map”
    • All the buses on that route in your chosen direction will appear as green symbols on the map.

    It’s very simple.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,760 ✭✭✭AngryLips


    Am I correct in thinking that, if you navigate to the map function via a particular service at a particular stop - say the 27A due in five minutes on Amien Street - that you'll be shown the route of that service with only the live location of that particular bus that is due in five minutes?

    So the green bus icon is the real time location of the next service in the below screenshot?

    It's good that it doesn't show ALL busses in the area but I found it a bit confusing trying to find the real time location when using the app for first time yesterday. Other than that I find the app an improvement overall I think, though latency might be a concern (versus the old app).




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,021 ✭✭✭✭breezy1985


    When I checked my bus must have been stopped at the train station. I thought that's what the green symbol was 🤦

    Just had a look and no live bus showing on my map now on my route.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,917 ✭✭✭✭LXFlyer


    Yes that is correct - from playing around with it yesterday, if you select a specific bus from the departures tab and then the map, only the stops and live position of that particular journey will appear.

    If you want to see all of the buses in one direction on a particular route, follow the steps I posted above via the timetable tab.

    I certainly find that being able to see where buses are on a specific route is often more useful so yes, it is a definite improvement.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,917 ✭✭✭✭LXFlyer


    The live GPS position really only works with any degree of reliability with Dublin City bus services.

    Bus Éireann live positions are a bit more hit and miss.

    One would hope that when the new multi-operator control system comes in that this will improve.

    Post edited by LXFlyer on


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