The software that runs TriMet’s TransitTracker app—allowing riders to get realtime information on when trains will actually arrive—will likely be down for two to three weeks thanks to some asshole who crashed their car into Transit Tracker’s nerve center. Or, as TriMet says it:
A single-automobile crash at the Rose Quarter Transit Center on Thursday, Oct. 4 destroyed key communication equipment for the MAX system, disrupting TransitTracker. The equipment feeds train tracking information to the TransitTracker system. For MAX, a device in the rails sends information to the TransitTracker system when a train passes over it so the system generates a prediction on when the train should reach specific stops. Since the crash, TransitTracker for MAX trains systemwide can only show scheduled arrival times. The crash itself did not involve TriMet.
Until the connector is fixed, TriMet will only have scheduled times available, so if a train is running late, you’ll never know. UPDATE: Just to clarify, Transit Tracker is broken for the MAX, but should still be working for buses. Also, I was joking about the “asshole” part. The person who crashed is most likely a very good person.
Only for trains, right? Most boardings are on buses, after all.
LOL @smirk. The “asshole” you are referring to had a medical emergency that caused them to pass out and depress the accelerator. You are a big jerk.
Uhh, that “asshole” had a medical condition, according to police. http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2012/…
Who’s the asshole here?
Too bad somebody doesn’t drive a car into the Multnomah County Courthouse. Maybe that would accelerate fixing that, too.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.s…
Transit tracker in general is a cruel joke.