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Let's say I'm playing a game, reading a book, surfing the net or watching a video and I'm getting close to my stop. Is there some way (perhaps an app) that can alert me that it's time to get off?

Other situations where this app would be useful

  • Dark platforms at night where it's difficult to see where I'm at
  • Crowded services where I just can't see out the window reliably
  • Travel in a foreign country where signage is in a different script
  • Travelling along unfamiliar routes
  • Useful for other modes of public transport as well

How it would work

I imagine an app like this would allow the user to configure the location of the stop via maps and set the amount of lead time (e.g. I want to be alerted five minutes before we arrive). The app would then monitor progress along the route and also estimate the lead time based on progress so far or some other smart means.

Any ideas?

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  • Before reading "how it would work" I was like "does he not know he can use an alarm app for this" ;)
    – user55027
    Commented May 15, 2014 at 7:29
  • Hi edvinas, that would be a crude way to do it, but obviously I'm thinking of something that works off the actual position using the location services available to the device. Also, using the alarm doesn't take into account the service running late, which frequently happens here.
    – Mark Micallef
    Commented May 15, 2014 at 8:37
  • The general problem would be that GPS/WiFi location based solutions are not 100% reliable. Only if e.g. the train company pushes a notification to your phone that the train you are riding with just arrived at your end station, you'll get a good solution.
    – Flow
    Commented May 16, 2014 at 22:02

4 Answers 4

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Ask your railway company. Or your government. Or both.

The Dutch Railways (NS) has an app where you can plan train trips, but also get notifications when you need to check in and out and change trains, and realtime information about delays and schedule changes.

And since all Public Transport data is freely available in my country (and some others), there are other apps that can do the exact same.

So just search for the names of your transportation comnpanies in the Play Store, and see what you find. You may be surprised.

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  • Hi PeetzOr. Good suggestion, but as it is I live in a place where public transport receives very little funding. I'm more likely to have success finding a third party app.
    – Mark Micallef
    Commented May 16, 2014 at 1:11
  • That's too bad... Even in that case' if there is an app for this, then you may find it by searching trough the Play Store for the names of the relevant companies or places.
    – Peetz0r
    Commented May 19, 2014 at 8:55
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Automation apps like Condi (free) or Tasker ($2.99) can allow you to configure rules based on specific criteria. I personally have used Condi and, though it cannot calculate the time it takes to get to a location like Google Maps does, it can display a notification/alert when you are within a certain distance of a point (eg. within 500 meters of your stop) that you can select using Maps. It is also very configurable for other very useful automated behavior.

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IFTTT.

Specifically, with the IFTTT Android app. The Android Location channel can trigger when you enter (or exit) an area you define.

Simply use one of the metric ton of possible actions (e.g., Pushover, Pushbullet, SMS, Android Notifications, etc.) with it. (Browse the recipes that use Android Location for some ideas.)

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  • This app looks great. I'll definitely check it out over the weekend. Love the trigger-action configurability concept. Thanks.
    – Mark Micallef
    Commented May 16, 2014 at 4:31
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Apps like this already exist. Try GPS ALARM or Location Alert.

It would also be quite easy to write your own if you weren't happy with either of those applications.

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