About 20 developers met with MassDOT officials to brainstorm about applications that used real-time data from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Ideas ranged from a scrolling LED message board that local stores can install (“Next bus in 10 minutes…Come in for coffee”) to applications that track smart card usage and reward frequent commuters. High on the Commonwealth’s priority list for the so-called “Hackathon” was developing an app to display next-bus arrival times on a wristwatch; officials hope to present the watch to Governor Deval Patrick. As Joshua Robin, MassDOT manager of performance and reporting, told The Boston Globe, “If you can put this information on a watch, you can put it anywhere.” MassDOT cosponsored the event with the Center for Future Civic Media at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Link to full story in The Boston Globe.
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