# The Wheels on the Bus...

By [colin test again](https://paragraph.com/@colin-test-again) · 2011-02-02

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![](http://wrkng.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/mta-bustime-sign.jpg "Coming Soon")

As of 11am this morning, buses in Brooklyn are [telling the internet where they are](http://bustime.mta.info).  And I'm proud to say that our work is behind it. For the past several months, we've been working with the MTA on this one-line pilot, to demonstrate that it's possible to achieve a workable bus tracking solution using existing hardware (in this case, farebox computers that will be rolled out citywide soon + GPS device + cell modem) and open source software (in this case, the excellent [OneBusAway](http://onebusaway.org)).  The hope is that this approach can work city-wide, and for a fraction of the cost of other approaches. There is lots of good coverage out there in the blogosphere, particularly over at Second Avenue Sagas, which did an [in-depth look](http://secondavenuesagas.com/2011/02/01/along-the-b63-an-in-house-real-time-tracking-solution/) prior to the launch, as well as a [follow up post-launch](http://secondavenuesagas.com/2011/02/01/b63-bustime-pilot-officially-live/).  You can also read our official reaction to the launch on the [OpenPlans blog](http://blog.openplans.org/2011/02/openplans-puts-mta-bus-locations-online/). On a side note, in anticipation of some amount of attention related to the MTA launch, we also put up a new [OpenPlans Transportation](http://openplans.org/transportation) website today, showcasing our services and projects in the transportation space.  It's nice to finally see the business that we've been building for the past year take a bit more shape. I really love this photo -- it is a huge honor to have something we worked on (in this case, the screen shot of the map behind the mobile phone) featured on an honest-to-god MTA transit ad.  That is super geeky, I know, but as a lifelong New Yorker and transit rider, it's pretty cool. Now, as [Jeff Maki](http://jeffmaki.com), our project manager for the MTA project, said on his way out of the office today: time to go to bed and dream about buses moving on a map... _// photo:_ [_Ben Kabak on Flickr_](http://www.flickr.com/photos/benyankee/5406840464/)

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*Originally published on [colin test again](https://paragraph.com/@colin-test-again/the-wheels-on-the-bus)*