Google Gadget: RTA Trip Planner
Added: May 8th, 2007 (tagged with: coding, cta, website)
Living in Chicago, I rely heavily on public transportation to get around. I own a car, but parking in the city is a nightmare; my car (1998 Ford Mustang) stays out in the suburbs at my parents' house. So, getting around the city requires knowledge of bus and train schedules and one of most useful web sites is the RTA Trip Planner.
That site, however, is big and bulky and just looks ugly. I thought, "Hey, I am a programmer. I run iGoogle as my home page. Why don't I just write a Google Gadget for the RTA Trip Planner site." So, I did. The gadget is not meant to be an exact replica of the RTA Trip Planner site. It is meant for quick directions for people heading out the door. The gadget assumes your starting time is within 5 minutes from now (specifically the next increment of 5 from your submission time; 9:04 PM becomes 9:05 PM, 11:55 AM becomes 12:00 PM).
User Preferences
I wanted to keep a minimalistic user interface for my gadget, but keep the trip options around. I think most people would have a standard set of options that they always enter when going to the Trip Planner web site, and Google Gadgets allow you to store user preferences, so I had a perfect blend. Set your preferences once, and each time you need directions, your preferences are included in the search. Do you need an accessible train station? Don't mind walking up to a mile? Hate having to transfer to different busses and trains? Just set your user preferences and be on your way.
