How often do vehicle positions update? This depends on the agency. Some vehicles update every 5-15 seconds, but most are roughly every 45-60 seconds, sometimes with some latency. Estimated arrival times usually update more frequently.
Can you get [transit agency] on here? I would love to! Please get in touch and I'll see what I can do. Adding agencies is mostly limited by time and funds, but it's helpful to know where there's demand. There are also technical requirements. Most importantly:
The agency must have a GTFS feed that meets basic quality standards.
To display realtime data, the agency must have a publicly-available real-time feed that meets basic quality standards. This includes producing trip and stop IDs that reference the static GTFS feed.
Do you have an iOS/Android app? Pantograph is available on the App Store for devices running iOS and iPadOS 15 and later (and on Apple Silicon Macs). There are no plans for an Android app at this time, but the web version can be saved to your home screen as a Progressive Web App.
Can I trust you? How are you using my data? Pantograph does not collect nor store any information about you. Your location is used only to display it on the map. Limited usage data is collected to help improve the service. Learn more at our privacy policy.
Why don't you know what vehicle this is? While Pantograph can identify the vast majority of vehicles, there are a few cases where we can't, due to limitations in the agency's data feeds. Here are a few common cases:
The vehicle is brand new and hasn't been recorded yet. I try to look out for these, but you can help by letting me know more about the vehicle.
Some agencies report "fake" vehicle IDs, meaning the vehicle ID in the feed doesn't match the actual fleet number of the vehicle. Usually, though, the "fake" ID is tied to that particular coach, so with a lot of time in the field we can link each "fake" ID to a "real" ID. This has been done with Everett Transit in Puget Sound and Tri Delta Transit in the San Francisco Bay Area. Please reach out if you'd like to record vehicle IDs in your area.
In a few cases—usually regional trains—the "vehicle ID" is actually an internal run number, like Caltrain 234. There is no way to link this to a specific fleet vehicle.
I seem to have broken the web app! How do I fix it? Trying clicking this button to wipe all settings Pantograph stores in your browser: If that doesn't help (or if it did, so I can prevent it from happening again!), please contact me for assistance.
I work for a transit agency. Can you get [specific operations info] in here? Probably. Some information is more easily included than others, and I can't always work for free. Please feel free to get in touch with any request, and I'd be happy to help out.