Live times, vehicle positions and alerts come from Transport for NSW’s open data. In the first test builds, every iPhone asked for them on its own. A couple of test phones left open could use up a whole day’s allowance.
Read once, shared with everyone
Now one server, running in Sydney, is the only thing that calls Transport for NSW. It reads the vehicle positions for trains, metro, buses, ferries and light rail every 30 seconds, along with trip updates and alerts, and publishes them as small files on a content delivery network. Every phone, widget and the live map on this website read those files.
Only while someone is looking
A feed runs at full pace only while someone is watching it. When you open a train line, the app says so, and the server wakes that feed within seconds. When nobody is looking, it slows to every five minutes. Overnight, with no services running, it checks only every few minutes.
Trip plans go through the same server, which shares answers: if two people ask for the next departures from Central in the same minute, Transport for NSW is asked once.
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Chloe is on this busArrives 1:26 pm333to Circular QuayLive position · Plenty of seatsStop followingStops2 stops done, from North Bondi Shops- Campbell Pde opp Bondi Beach Public School1:11 pmNow
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