Sept. 24, 2013, 2:45 p.m.
There are infinite apps in this world all vying for the privilege of making your commuting life easier, but only a handful of these were selected by the MTA and AT&T as the winners of the city's nerdishly named App Quest. Herewith are the winners, accompanied by descriptions from the makers:
Best Overall App: Citymapper, which is "reinventing the transport app with the simple mission of making the large complicated city simple and usable by providing A to B journey planning with real-time information on subways, buses and bikes across all five boroughs. The app also provides information on disruptions, alert you when to get off the bus, give you hyperlocal weather and personalize the app with your most visited places."
Second Place: Subculture.FM, which "allows MTA users to identify their favorite subway musicians performing in the NYC Subway area by providing bar codes - known as QR codes - to each musical group to display during live performances. These QR codes can be stored, so that you can enjoy their music anytime."
Third Place: Transit App "makes everyday commuting in NYC simple by instantly telling users about transit routes around you and departure times. See in real time the current locations of desired trains or buses and use the trip planner to route your next destination."
Honorable Mentions: Accessway, a "way-finding app that assists the blind and visually impaired with navigating the MTA Subway system. AccessWay incorporates both Bluetooth LowEnergy Smart Sensor and Wi-Fi technologies to talk to a user’s device and deliver audio messages regarding their surroundings - such as which platform the user is on. The app also provides real-time train arrival times and service changes."Bus NYC, which is "the most comprehensive bus app in New York City, providing users with live departure and arrival times, full timetables for selected routes, service advisories, bus route maps and trip planners among others. Many of Bus NYC’s features also function without Wi-Fi, allowing users to plan while they are underground."
Popular Choice: "Moovit takes the hassle out of using public transportation with MTA schedules, real-time next arrival, info planning and navigation. Users have the ability to contribute to the data by sharing their MTA experiences."When will someone invent an app that delivers a high-voltage shock to anyone who hangs brain on the subway? Get on this, lazy programmers!
