I just discovered DIYcity, a project where city-wide problems are solved via crowdsourcing. DIYcity is described as “a place where people figure… things out by discussing, then actually building and launching applications that address the problems around them.”

Before carefully reading the word “applications”, I suggested the following as a solution to realtime muni tracking:

Can’t we just encourage existing Brightkite users and other folks with geo-locational phone apps to ping from their locations and then encourage the use of hashtags like #sfmuni47? The post would appear with location, min last posted and bus number. From here, if you’re a bus 47 rider you just follow the feed. [cont’d]

If you’re here because you think I’m a bastard for oversimplifying your problem, you’re right. And since you’re probably a New Yorker and I’m just a podunk Canadian, I’m already afraid of you.

I just thought about this hashtag thing because I’d love to have a feed to tell me when Caltrain is so late that I should work from home. Then, as always, Mr. Wonderful tells me there is a Caltrain account. That being said, people aren’t specifying the exact train. When the trains are really screwed up sometimes a train 30min late shows up when yours is supposed to arrive. Maybe each train number should have an account or maybe they could just use a live ticking chart like at the airport? The busking opera couple or the scary dude in the shoeshine area could update it.