Animated map tracks every TTC vehicle

Ever since the TTC added GPS technology to its surface vehicles, commuter life has gotten considerably better. Most transit apps will provide both an up to the second ETA on your next bus or streetcar as well as an animated map that plots out the location of these vehicles. No more waiting at the bus stop in vain for 20 minutes. That said, mobile apps don't do much when you want to get a sense of the big picture (because why would they?). That's what makes this TRAVIC map interesting -- at least for us urban nerds.

"This tracker provides movement visualization of transit data published by transit agencies and operators from all over the world," reads a description on the website. "The movements are mostly based on static schedule data. Whenever real-time data is available it is also included in the visualization."

Watching the map for a bit (an activity that is strangely calming), it seems like it currently relies on the former rather than the latter, which means you wouldn't want to use it to determine when your next vehicle is set to arrive. Where it holds interest is in showing the sheer number of vehicles in the network at any one given time. TTC bashing is one of our favourite collective exercises as Torontonians, but a map like this gives a good sense of the complexity that defines the transit system.

Oh, and if it looks like the dots aren't moving, just zoom in.

by Derek Flack via blogTO