This week, RTD released open data for real-time information, hoping that prospective developers can use it in crafting mobile applications for riders.
"RTD is committed to supporting the development community," the district said in a statement Wednesday, "and encourages third-party developers to create apps, widgets and other tools that will benefit riders."
A number of these apps already exist; The Transit App, Denver Rail, Moovit and Transit Tracker already get RTD data, and Google Maps is expected to follow suit in the coming weeks, RTD said.
The real-time data is only available for local lines at the moment. RTD spokesman Scott Reed said that this is because the stops on regional and express buses — such as the new Flatiron Flyer — are "so far apart that they don't yet offer sufficient data points for the accuracy needed for reliable real-time information."
RTD is in the process, though, of manually inserting "phantom" stops in the databases for regional and express lines' schedules. That data will be added later in 2016, Reed said.
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