I’ve made significant progress, to the point I can say that I have a working alpha of Metro Times.

To Check DC Metro Times on Your Cell Phone

  1. Send a text message to metro [AT] skeevisarts [DOT] com (replace AT and DOT with the appropriate symbols).
  2. In the message, include the first few characters of the Metro station.
  3. Type enough of the station’s name so that it can’t be confused with anyone else.
  4. For example: If you wanted Dupont Circle, typing “d” could be one of three stations, “du” could be Dupont or Dunn Loring-Merrifield, but “dup” works.
  5. It is NOT case sensitive. Feel free to type in dUpONt if you feel like it.
  6. For the full list of stations, check here.
  7. You’ll get a message back… eventually.

Supported Services

  • Email (Send the station name in the BODY of the e-mail)
  • Verizon Wireless

Please try this on your own wireless provider. If you can send and receive a message, please e-mail me at skeevis AT skeevis DOT com with your provider!

In case you need a reminder, Metro Times is an application I hacked together in a few hours that allows you to check DC metro times via SMS (standard cell phone text messaging). Previously, the only way to check it via mobile is using wireless internet, which is still in the infant stage in the USA.

It’s not perfect yet. Right now, it’s done via e-mail. This works at least with Verizon, as you can text message any e-mail address from a Verizon phone, and all replies can be send to <phone number>@vtext.com. The SMS/email gateway is maaaad slooooow, but it works. I chose email because A) it works for me, B) I haven’t found a good, low-cost, two way SMS solution. Those 5 digit shortcodes that are used for SMS in the US are a whopping $500-1000 a month, just to lease! I’m looking into a shared shortcode service now, or other options. I don’t use twitter, but might be able to figure out some hack through that. I have no problem spending **some** money, but I am one guy :-).

Fun stuff :-)

Technorati Tags: , , ,