Google brings smartphone app Pigeon to five new cities in the US, allowing users to post about subway delays
- Launched in 2018, Pigeon collects user reports about subways and buses
- The app was limited to New York during its first year of operation
- It now covers Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington DC
Google has today announced it’s expanding the service area for its public transit monitoring app Pigeon.
The app originally launched last year and was limited to just New York, but starting to today it will be usable in five new US cities: Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington DC.
Originally developed through Google’s Area 120 incubator, Pigeon lets users upload short text reports on delays, accidents, or unexpected service outages on public transit.
The iOS app Pigeon launched in New York in 2018, giving users the chance to post updates about public transit service
Users can also upload photos of issues that might affect the operation of a particular train or bus line, according to a report from 9 to 5 Google.
The user posts are displayed on a map of the city at the specific part of the subway or bus line where they were posted from.
Alternately, users can scroll through all the posts about a particular train or bus line in a newsfeed-style view.
Users can also sign up for alert notifications for subway or bus lines that they might use most often.
The app is currently available only on iOS. Android users can sign up for a waitlist to be alerted when its ready for Google’s own mobile operating system.
Pigeon relies on user posts about subway and bus service to calculate more accurate commute times
Users can scroll through all the posts about a particular subway line in a newsfeed-style view
Pigeon users can also get notifications updating them about subway lines they might use most often
Starting today, Pigeon will expand its services to five new cities: San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and Washington DC
The idea for the app originally came to Google software engineer Laura Rokita when she found herself stuck on a subway platform during an unannounced train delay.
‘What could I be doing with my time in the 15 minutes I’ve been standing here?’ she wondered to herself.
‘Why couldn’t I easily alert other riders, so they could avoid the same fate?’
After its first year of availability in New York, Pigeon released a report collecting insights about New York public transportation based on user data collected from its first year.
The F train had the most rush hour delay reports and the highest number of overall negative posts, earning it the distinction of ‘The Grumpiest Subway Line.’
The A train had the most reports of crowding, while the 1 train had the highest number of complaints about cleanliness.
The hottest subway station in New York, at least going by Pigeon heat complaints, was Union Square Station.