If you’re a bus rider with a smartphone like me, you rely on the NextBus app to tell you when the next buses are coming to your stop. The app hadn’t been working for awhile, with each stop saying “connection problem,” but I figured it was my phone. Turns out the app is no more due to a dispute between the app developer and the company that releases the bus data, neither of which are affiliated with WMATA. The app is no longer available for download.
However, DCist reports that the NextBus website, www.nextbus.com, works just as well. At least on my iPhone, when I go there it automatically loads the stops nearest to my location, which is actually faster than the app was. If you want to track a few common stops, like maybe your home and work, you’ll have to bookmark those places separately, but still, it does work well. The NextBus data isn’t always perfect, but it’s pretty good and certainly a big help when you’re deciding when to go outside and brave the cold or deciding if another mode of transportation would be better.
Metro also uses the NextBus system on their own site based on the bus stop ID number (each stop has its own number), but NextBus’s mobile site seems to be faster and easier.
Hope this helps fellow bus commuters.
