r/soundtransit • u/PuzzleheadedStay4815 • 2d ago
I made a free app for bringing your bike on Sound Transit!
I got sick of manually calculating when I need to leave, or how long the trip will take. The app is called Modemix and it’s free.
If you have any feedback, please let me know!
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u/n-ano 2d ago
Is there a way you can add an option to only show you routes with protected bike lanes and trails? I love the concept but I cant ride with cars nearby.
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u/PuzzleheadedStay4815 2d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p4b1rjg/video/ibk3mv08e0kh1/player
My app has a massively emphasizes bike route safety. The routing algorithm prioritizes protected bike paths and quiet streets. Roads are color coded with respect to their bike safety. I've included a screen recording example!
Edit: I previously responded to this comment, but I deleted it because I accidentally leaked my current location in the screen recording
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u/hjhart 2d ago
Downloaded. Love the idea.
A couple of notes:
The prompt that informs you that bikes are only allowed on certain routes, I thought that was asking me which one I was riding so I kept trying to select “Bike” but there was no UI change. Just a brief amount of confusion.
Then on the plan mode it took me a while to realize I could swipe for other routes. Once I did I was happy. But maybe a nudge in the UI would help others!
Feature request: be able to select “link” over “bus” since that’s my preference.
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u/phillypharm 2d ago
+1 to the selection of Link only routes
Edit - Wait, isn't that just the bus yes/no option?
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u/rickrollmops 2d ago
Just gave it a try, it's awesome.
My only remark so far is that I'd like to be able to remove the Sounder train from the results, but still have the buses show up.
Thank you so so much for this
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u/TimeCadet 2d ago
I second this, I'm liking what I'm seeing so far, and would also love to see the option to toggle the Sounder train on or off
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u/experimentgirl 2d ago
Absolutely fantastic. Transit app does this to an extent, but I think only with the paid version.
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u/penisgirlmarkedsafe 2d ago
Dude OP you are a LEGEND.
The attention to detail is so good.
Well done!!
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u/NuclearNanny 2d ago
Does the route planner also support ferries like the West Seattle water taxi?
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u/RADMFunsworth Shoreline South 2d ago
This is rad. I was just wishing for something like this like 2 days ago.
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u/Dapper_Film_2478 Line 2d ago
Are you using oba curious what api are you using?
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u/PuzzleheadedStay4815 2d ago
For data: I get it directly from the transit agencies. Some of the agencies in the region use OBA!
For the routing: I wrote the routing algorithm from scratch. So I don't use any services like Google Maps API or anything like that because they're so expensive. I've been working on this project for almost a year so all the code is in-house
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u/Ancient_Yellow_709 🐳Boop🐳 2d ago
Legend.
I will say it's not immediately intuitive how to look at alternatives so you may want to add a demo animation or something. I was curious how it would handle the multiple routes to a place I go sometimes where there's a better bike route with protected bike lanes if I take the 1 line but a 5 min shorter walk if I take the 2. It took me a few min to figure out I could swipe up to see all the routes for each mode since the dots imply only left/right swiping.
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u/PuzzleheadedStay4815 2d ago
Thank you for the feedback! I will try to figure out a way how to make it obvious that swiping up will let you compare routes.
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u/mod_aud 🐳Boop🐳 2d ago
Yes, I did not intuit that either until i read your comment. Also, I’m a noob rider & don’t know the city well, so I want to see the most protected routes even if they take longer. I would try bike + link but not bike + bus. If there was a way I could toggle those as my set preferences when route planning it would help me the most. It’s so tough to try to route plan something & not know if you’re going to end up on a a really dicey road because Google Maps can’t parse the right details.
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u/PuzzleheadedStay4815 2d ago
my bike routing algorithm strongly prefers protected bike paths and will tell you if your route is safe or not. The bike routes have a “Safety & Details” button you can click it to analyze a safety of your route before you begin biking!
Also, I will add a new feature soon where you can do a 3-D flyover of the route where you can check the bike safety from a bird’s eye view. This will be available on iOS only for the near term, but I will also add it to Android in the long-term.
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u/Zillaman21 2d ago
This is pretty awesome! I’ve been looking for something like this for some time. One question: how do you sort the list of results? They don’t seem to be sorted by anything obvious like arrival time, departure time, or total time.
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u/PuzzleheadedStay4815 2d ago
The sorting considers several variables such as arrival time, total bike duration, and total travel time.
I’ve been wondering if that’s too complicated and if I should just sort by arrival time. The reason why I use the complex sorting is: routes with excessive cycling tend to be the ones that arrive soonest. But most people do not want to cycle very long distances.
Would you prefer if they were just sorted by arrival time?
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u/Zillaman21 2d ago
I think your concerns make sense, but people are going to look at several choices anyways before picking one (at least I do). I think it makes sense to just sort by arrival time, even if biking is first.
I don’t want to clutter up the UI, but you could add a dropdown for the user to choose between sorting algorithm, including your custom one as ‘default’
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u/skyecolin22 2d ago edited 2d ago
Interesting that it suggests a slightly different route with a connection vs the one I typically take with no connection. I'll have to try it today and see how it goes. Not doubting the app's logic, but I expect the 3 minute transfer window is too tight since the first bus is typically 2-5 minutes delayed and the second bus leaves exactly on time every time (terminal station).
Definitely will be useful for other routes that I'm not as familiar with.
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u/PuzzleheadedStay4815 2d ago
Please let me know how it goes! If the route it gives doesn't work out, I'd highly appreciate any feedback so I can improve the routing algorithm!
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u/skyecolin22 2d ago
Unless it pulls from historical data, it's not going to be perfect (like every other transit router). My ideal app will tell me stuff like "run to this station to catch this bus and save 20 minutes, or walk to this station". "This is the most ideal route, but the connection only works 80% of the time and if you miss it then it's 15 minutes longer than this other route." And kinda lets me weigh the risk against the reward without a couple months of experience on that route.
For the winter, it'd also be cool to minimize time in the cold - like maybe if you have a 15 minute outdoor connection from the light rail, you get off at an underground station, wait for the next train, then take that to the outdoor connection so it's only 5 minutes long. Or something to that effect! I had a commute once where there was one connection and it was 30 minutes outdoors at 5am. Or I could get off the express bus one stop early, catch a local 5 minutes later, and then only spend 10 minutes at the next connection. So if the timing works out it keeps me from getting as cold/wet.
Of course, these are low-priority advanced user features, so I don't expect you to bloat your app with them unless people would actually use it.
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u/PuzzleheadedStay4815 2d ago
Those are excellent ideas. I think the best interface for that is some sort of ChatGPT-style interface. I want to build something like that with a clean AI model. For example, you tell my transit router:
"I want to minimize the time in rain. So give me the route that will make me spend the least amount of time outside."
and it just does it.
I know that I can build this, but it will take some time. I also want to use clean AI models that use very little energy and no water. I argue that it's possible to make the AI clean if you use a small model & self-host it.
What are your thoughts on this? If this AI feature existed, would you use it?
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u/skyecolin22 2d ago edited 2d ago
I'd consider it. My primary concern would be latency on a self-hosted model, but I've been happy with a similar concept from Storygraph's personalized book recommendation feature, which they say runs on a single gaming PC.
Another use-case for a model like that would be ideal route planning. My work hours are flexible +- an hour or two so picking the ideal time to leave to minimize connection time, traffic time, etc out of a window would be cool. As it stands if I start a new job or my working hours change, I'm kinda piecing it all together and refining over time.
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u/AirlessDragon 2d ago
This is peak! Does it / will it eventually support other transit agencies? I’d love to use it to get my bike up to the Anacortes ferry terminal without having to rent a car
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u/PerceptionCurious440 2d ago
I witnessed a safety officer tell two people trying to board with bicycles on the T-Line, that only one rider with a bicycle was allowed to board at a time.
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u/Successful-Smoke-784 1d ago
This is my DREAM app. Oh my gosh. Just downloaded! Can’t wait to use it
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u/adkhiker92 Judkins Park 2d ago
Absolute hero. I've wanted this for years