MBTA schedule info now available for iPhone

OK, had to immediately get this. :) it's pretty sweet.

Bad news first - the subway part is boring. it just lists stations - when you click on a station is shows the bus connections, which you can click on and get that bus page. It would be nice to see at least a list of average between-train times. i.e. know if the red line is every 5 minutes or every 20 minutes.

The rest is great. For both bus, water and commuter rail you pic your route and a list of stops is listed (train stations for CR, stations, for water, piers, and for bus, major intersections/waypoints). Buttons on top let you select inbound and outbound. They take the current time and list the next three times for arrival. (oh, SL and CT are included in the bus section)

So for example, I pick the #10. being 2:59 now, i lists the next three bus times for city point (3:15, 3:39, 4:03), E Broadway & L, E Broadway & G, Andrew, South Bay, etc... If I click on one of those stations (Andrew, let's say) it lists the past 3 and future 4 bus times, a little icon next to the 'next' time, and a countdown timer to when the next schedule bus will come through (1 min). This is all based on scheduled time, not real time data as far as I can tell - but future integration looks nice. This 'stop' window will change as time progresses, counting down the minutes until it says "Now". Once scheduled time passes it shifts everything to the next time slot and counts down again.

The list of stops & 3 times, and station-specific countdown work similar for commuter rail and for water transport.

Each bus/CR/water route also gives you the option to bookmark your favourite bus stop; see the full day's schedule; and download the route map to the iphone.

So given all that functionality, the subway part seems awful thin. Again future update?

If you take any bus or use the commuter rail this is well worth $2.99 (which is listed as a limited time price). Run out and buy it now. If you take water transport only, it may or may not be worth while to have the full schedule in this great format. If you take subway only and never ever ever take a bus, you'll pass on this. But at $2.99 - you might take a bus or train one day...