UW student creates new online tool for transit riders

Kona Farry, 21, is a self-described “bus nerd.” When the Marysville native moved to Seattle in 2016 to start school at the University of Washington, he became fascinated with the local transit system.

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“Using the bus every day to go places and do things, and just found it incredible to live somewhere where that’s a viable option,” Farry said.

His obsession turned into a website, called the Puget Sound Transit Operations Track, or P-Track for short. It uses GPS and real-time data from local agencies to map out the precise location of each bus, light rail, and street car.

“You can actually just see on a map, ‘Oh, there’s the bus and it will be here once it gets from there to here,’” Farry said. “I think that’s just better to see a dot on a map and wait for that to get to you.”

P-Track offers a range of data for Farry’s fellow “transit-geeks,” including the total number of transit vehicles on the road, their model, and how on time they are.

Farry began designing P-Track in December without any prior coding experience. He unveiled the website March 25.

“I’ve learned everything along the way,” Farry said.

He hopes to develop his website into a smartphone app this summer.

Farry is studying community, environment, and planning at UW. Eventually, he’d like to pursue a career in transportation planning.

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