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MBTA Transit Tracker


Real-time stop and vehicle predictions and visualizations

About


MBTA Transit Tracker is the last app that you will ever need for using the MBTA. It provides you with real-time predictions and vehicle locations pulled directly from the MBTA, giving you the most accurate arrival times possible. Some of the many features are:

  • Map views of all subway, bus, and commuter rail stops and routes
  • Real-time locations of all subway trains, busses, and commuter rail trains
  • Real-time predictions for any stop
  • Listing of nearby stops
  • Search functionality to find any route or stop
  • Offline functionality

And new features added on a regular basis.

FAQs


Answer

The top of the train icon points in the direction that the train is traveling.

Answer

The locations of the various trains and busses on the map are up to date within about 30-60 seconds. Because of this, it is safest to assume that the vehicle locations are up to 1 minute behind. The application will update the vehicle locations every 3 seconds, however, the MBTA vehicles only report their coordinates at certain points on their route. For example, a train on the orange line may only send back its location 2-3 times between each stop. Busses are a bit more difficult to track, as the location reporting can be sporatic. For tracking the busses, it is reccommended that you use the individual stop predictions, or assume that the busses are 1-2 stops ahead of where they appear.

Answer

You can view all of the MBTA routes by clicking the search icon in the bottom right of the application. Clicking on any one of the listed routes will give you a list of all stops for that route. A click on one of these stops will show you that stop and the other stops on that route in the map view.

Answer

Not every route has active vehicles on it, and some vehicles do not report their location to the MBTA. Many bus routes only run for specific times throughout the day, so you may see some routes that are not currently active.