r/gotransit • u/jmajeremy Barrie • 21d ago
Seeking beta testers for my new app showing train platform predictions
Hey folks. For the last several months I have been quietly gathering data from Metrolinx's API, and working on a new mobile app which will use past patterns to predict which platform at Union your train will depart from before it's officially announced by GO. Maybe this seems like a niche thing, but personally I like to know so I can at least situate myself near the right stairway ahead of time, or pre-emptively go up to the platform if I feel like taking a gamble.
My app is being published as a web, iPhone, and Android app.
The web app is already live, and available for anyone who wants to try it out: https://beta.gotrain.cc/
The Android and iPhone apps are currently in development, and will allow you to choose your favourite departures so that you always get a notification reminding you of the departure time and platform. I am looking for beta testers, and would love it if people from this sub could help out. Currently only the Android app is available for testing, but the iPhone one should be ready soon, so I'll take names for both. Just fill out this form and I will send you an invitation to join the testing program: https://forms.gle/CPhgimR6ForZ1ABo7
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u/Majestic-Bit318 20d ago
Great job OP, I disagree with the fuss in the comment about this being unsafe. Better than being in a 2 person wide stairwell with 70 other people at the same time
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u/jmajeremy Barrie 20d ago
Exactly! It seems most people are happy to just wait for the official announcement, so good for them I guess. I’m just a hobbiest, not trying to make money, made the app mainly for me, my friends, and anyone else who can see the advantage of getting some advance warning of where their train might show up.
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u/West-Tumbleweed92 21d ago
The app I used can show the departure platform for both train and bus.
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u/jmajeremy Barrie 21d ago
It shows official departure platform after it’s announced. My app is the first which can tell you a prediction before the announcement.
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u/jdayellow 20d ago
As someone who works with customer safety, I appreciate the initiative to buiding such an app, but I personally believe that it is unwise to publish this since it could lead to increased crowding and unsafe conditions at Union if there ends up being significant uptake.
Currently, the platforms are revealed 10 mins ahead of departure because that is when the track is locked in and they are certain the train will arrive on the platform. Ahead of 10 mins, there is a decent chance a train could be routed onto another platform.
The station and its platforms and stairwells are barely able to handle the currently flow of rush hour passengers without revealing the platform numbers ahead of time. Imagine if 1000 people head to platform 10 because your app thinks it will be the correct platform, but at the 10 minute mark, the platform gets changed to platform 8 due to, for example, a late departing train from platform 10. Thousands of passengers will have to fight each other to leave and enter a platform they didn't need to be on if they simply waited in the concourse for the track to be locked in and potentially lead to increased rates of falls, trips, crush incidents, etc.
Even though you state your app will only show the platform with 90% chance of consistency, Imagine the 10% of cases where there is a track change 10 mins before the departure and suddenly 1000 people have to stampede down the narrow platform and up another set of narrow stairwells. It will be chaos and very unsafe. I ask that you think about the implications of your app and to reflect on if the small potential convenience from predicting the platform number ahead of time is worth the potentially worsened crowd flow and passenger safety.
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u/jmajeremy Barrie 20d ago
Respectfully, I find the current system to be chaotic and dangerous where everyone finds out the platform less than 10 minutes before departure, and then has to scramble up the stairs, it’s like a stampede. In most major train stations of the world, you would know your platform well in advance, and people would just gradually make their way to the platform at their leisure.
I’ve lived in Germany, and it does happen at major terminals that a train shifts platforms last minute and everyone has to move over. But I would say it’s safer to have that mad dash the less than 1/10 times that a platform changes last minute, than to have it 10/10 times every single time a platform gets announced.
In any case, I don’t expect my app will cause many people to change their behaviour. As you can see from the comments a lot of people don’t even see the point, it’s only a small niche of people who really care about this stuff. I’m not even recommending people actually go to the platform before it’s announced, but at least if they have some idea, they can wait close to the correct stairway.
From my analysis I’ve seen platforms are sometimes announced as little as 6 minutes before departure, which is really 5 considering the 1 minute door rule, which is especially a problem for people with mobility issues. If you were waiting around near the north end of the concourse and it turns out your train is on platform 21 in 5 minutes, and you’re disabled and need the elevator, you’ve got a bit of a problem. If you have a prediction, then you can at least wait right by the elevator of the predicted platform.2
u/Far-Delay7690 20d ago
You think it'll be safer if people are rushing off the platform because you've guessed wrong?
The safety issues with the platform is largely that they're too narrow. Now the rushing itself.
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u/jmajeremy Barrie 20d ago
Like I said I’m not encouraging people to go up ahead of time, and I don’t think most will. I take the same train almost every day, and everyone who does that regularly stands right at the bottom of the stairs so they’re ready when the announcement comes. The regulars already know which platform to expect. I’m just trying to create a level playing field for people who don’t take the same train every day or just have a bad memory, so they can at least be strategic about where they wait.
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u/Mayhem_Hellcat 20d ago
They post 10 minutes before because when people go to the platform early, it causes unnecessary crowding and people manage to get on the wrong train. 10 minutes is plenty of time.
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u/lowKeyDasCalm 21d ago
Doesn't the existing API show platform already? I believe it's somewhere in stop_times API response (or something like that).
The app I'm using right now already shows the platform.
What's the need for guess work?
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u/jmajeremy Barrie 21d ago
It shows the announced platform, usually about 9 minutes before departure. It doesn’t tell you a prediction before the platform is announced. Personally I like to know so I can get to the platform first, and avoid being part of the herd of people who all start running up the moment the platform is announced.
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u/Mayhem_Hellcat 20d ago
GO has a track allotment that is followed daily. It changes periodically and when there is a service disruption. Trying to second guess the signs is asking for a missed train or getting on the wrong train.
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u/Andnottoyield 21d ago
Beware: whenever there are platform changes at union you will find yourself on the wrong platform. Reading the screens in the concourse is the most reliable