and on the subject of iCal…
Why doesn’t Via Rail offer their timetables in ical format, that could be dynamically generated and updated using off-the-shelf technology?
It would be supremely useful to be able to just subscribe to a Via Rail iCalendar and get dynamic updates…and even have travel information updated blogstyle via RSS to advise people of delays, for instance.
Right now they offer a downloadable PalmPilot application and a proprietary Windows app, and database updates for both, but nowadays that seems so slow, static and clunky.
They could really update their booking process as well. After you experience a Rich Internet Application like the Flash-based iHotelier reservation system, the idea of going through multiple screens of forms only to find out you can’t travel on that day is maddening.
Another thought: do any airlines offer iCal timetables?
July 13, 2004 9:59 AM
Comments
That would be cool. Right now, they have codes for each bus stop, so you can dial AUT-OBUS and get the schedule from your cellphone. Or you could copy and paste them off the website. It used to be easier; each bus stop had its own number, but I guess they got tired of paying for Direct Inward Dial extensions for each stop…
It would be cool if they could WAP-ify the interface for the Tous Azimuts route planning software for phone-browsers. Maybe in 10 years they can give it a voice interface. Imagine with GPS location: “Walk 30 feet forwards, then turn left. The 62 bus stop is right in front of you.”
I mean, if a game company can digitize all of central London for the PS2 game The Getaway, why can’t we have video maps of where the buses are and what to look for when going to an unfamiliar stop?…
wrote aj on July 13, 2004 11:43 AM
It’s shame, too few people are using iCal format. I guess 3 or 4 years ago, RSSFeeds started very slowly too. And very few applications use the format.
I recently realize that Mozilla Calendar support iCal format for people like me on Windows or Linux machine. Mozilla Calendar is a stand-alone apps or as an extension for Firefox/Mozilla/Thunderbird.
wrote Antoine on July 15, 2004 3:55 PM
Yeah, I actually wrote to Via and they said they’d pass the note on to their web developers. I did mention that loads of open source software uses ical, in fact even Outlook supports the generic iCal event format but not the subscription functionality as far as I know. I get meeting notices from people on Exchange and they show up as ical events. It’s a MIME message type, apparently.
wrote aj on July 15, 2004 6:09 PM
What I’m waiting for is an Avant-Go style Palm thingy for the STM buses. Imagine if you could just select a handful of buses that you regularly take and dump them into your Palm. It’s then synched with the Palm’s clock, so when you need to take a bus you just tap a couple of things and tells you when the next bus is coming to the nearest corner (and provides alternatives).
wrote Blork on July 13, 2004 11:26 AM