Red Rocket 1.5 Live!

We are very pleased to announce the release of Red Rocket 1.5.

Download your copy on the iTunes Store.

Because the app is so large, we STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you download it through iTunes on your computer and sync, rather than downloading it directly to your device.

If you previously purchased Red Rocket, this update is free (even if you deleted your copy). You need to sign in with the same iTunes account, of course.

Thanks for your patience. We hope you enjoy this update.

Update Submitted to Apple

We are happy to announce that the next version of Red Rocket has been submitted to Apple for approval.

Updates include:

• Finally added iOS 4 support!
• Added multitasking for supported devices
• Incorporated latest schedule data from MyTTC.ca
• Updated maps to most recent versions from the TTC
• Added complete route list to Routes screen default
• Bearing (e.g., “Northbound”) now landmark based (e.g., “Pearson Airport”)
• Added Red Rocket Blog to Advisories
• Numerous bug fixes and visual tweaks

Thanks for your patience. The new Red Rocket will be live soon!

Red Rocket is Napping…

We have temporarily suspended Red Rocket from the iTunes Store. We are working on an update that is compatible with Apple’s latest mobile operating system (iOS 4) and contains the most recent MyTTC data and other improvements.

When Will Red Rocket Be Updated?

We receive a lot of feedback. By far, the biggest issue we see is:

“The times for route X are wrong. When will Red Rocket be updated?”

When users say the times are wrong, what they mean is that the departure times they see in Red Rocket do not match official TTC schedules — what’s posted at the stops, on the TTC’s website or when vehicles actually show up.

Red Rocket contains departure times for every vehicle at every stop on every route. That works out to a few million entries. All of these departure times are contained within a rather large database that’s included with Red Rocket. This database was created by the fine folks at MyTTC.ca and is provided for free. While this data isn’t perfect, it’s almost certainly the best that’s currently available.

Really? Why not just use official TTC data?

We’d love to. But there are problems:

1. Until recently, no official TTC data was available.
2. “Scraping” data from the TTC’s website is not easy and enters a legal grey area.
3. Displaying live screen captures from the TTC’s website is a decent solution but that leaves anyone without a mobile data connection in the dark, making the app useless for iPod touch users and anyone in the subway system. And if the TTC updates its website, suddenly access to the information is severed for all users.
4. If you entered 1 stop time every second, it would take around 138 working days to assemble the data manually. With no lunch break. And then you’d have to maintain it.

But didn’t the city release official TTC data recently?

They sure did. And it’s awesome that they did. But there are problems:

1. We’ve learned that the data is incomplete; it’s missing stops and routes.
2. The data is incorrect: The information doesn’t match other TTC sources, such as the TTC website and what you see posted at the stops.
3. The data is illogical: Some vehicles are scheduled to travel faster than the speed of light or backwards in time. You can get a lot for $3 these days.
4. The data is not updated often: The toronto.ca/open website says that the data will be updated periodically but we haven’t seen an update since the inital data post in October 2009.
5. The data isn’t pretty.
6. The data doesn’t contain GPS points.

So if no good, official TTC data exists, what now?

For now we will continue to use MyTTC.ca’s data and will issue updates to Red Rocket as new data is released. We are also investigating the TTC’s official data in case it is updated and improved. And we will ask the TTC to improve their data. You can too.

In the end, schedules are great, but we’d really like to tap into that fancy, new GPS system that the TTC is working on. But don’t hold your breath… unless you can hold your breath for a few years.

Do you have a solution? Post your comment below.