Feature

Managing the “Good News” alerts at the start of your commute

Managing the “Good News” alerts at the start of your commute

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This page explains one or more of the dozens of amazing features found in Clever Commute Premium.

The Heads-Up feature sends Premium users the official view of their commute at the user’s stated travel time.

Some riders want to suppress those alerts. To accomplish that, they may use another Premium feature: the ability to stop notifications from any given user. How to:

  1. When you see such a message in Recent Alerts, tap on the actual Reported By: name
  2. On the subsequent screen, tap on Stop notifications

A longer (and older) video about this feature is here

The implemenation (and pros/cons) varies by provider per the table below

ProviderNicknameNote
LIRROfficial_LIRRThis will also stop notifications for intraday official LIRR alerts
Metro-NorthOfficial_MNROther intraday notifications come from Official_MetroNorth…so user can decide to suppress one or both
NJ Transit TrainsOfficial_NJTOther intraday notifications come from line-specific accounts…so user can decide to suppress one or both

 

 

The New Year resolution I made last January (130 fixes and enhancements in the first 3 quarters of 2019)

The New Year resolution I made last January (130 fixes and enhancements in the first 3 quarters of 2019)

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For 2017 and 2018, I was publishing a new version of the app on a somewhat-monthly schedule. There were so many features to add...so many opportunities. It was energizing.

But the majority of these things focused on the NJ commuting experience.

To be clear, a lot of work is always needed on the infrastructure used by all Clever commuters. However, I know that  the legacy Clever experience for LIRR and Metro North riders was not as robust as it was for NJ train/bus commuters.

Part of the reason was (and is) because LIRR and Metro North do not povide me with the same technical opportunities vis-a-vis those provided by NJ Transit (yes, kudos to NJT here).

Nonetheless, in 2019, I took stock of the things which are in my control...and then put energy (and code) into doing all I can to bring the non-NJT Clever experience into parity. It's been a great year. Here is what we did (so far)

  1. New LIRR feature - Our bots/probes check the departure board to look for overall bad trends/signs of trouble. Premium users get  notified per their communciation preferences. The alert is also added to the recently-revamped News You Need feature
  2. New LIRR andMetro-North feature - At the start of your stated commute, we notify you of the official conditions on your branch. We call this headsup.
  3. Enhanced LIRR feature - We overhauld the in-app version of the departureboard.
    Ues - this includes the amazing track predictor.
  4. Enhanced LIRR feature - You can now see the full text of official alerts from your transit provider (previous version routed you to mta.info/lirr to see)
  5. Enhanced Metro North feature - Improved handling of large official Metro North messages.
  6. Enhanced Metro North feature - Improved handling of graphics in official Metro North messages.
  7. New Metro North feature - Official messages from Metro North are now filtered to be branch-specific
  8. New Metro North feature - We parse/translate the official alerts from MTA to convert "train numbers" to train times you can understand (Examples)
For all: 
  1. Improved the your ability for Premium membes to turn on/turn the "message box"
  2. Removed ads from some pages
  3. Improved emoji support
  4. Improved off-line functionality
  5. Resolved legacy issue of duplicate messages (in app) as well as duplicate push notifications
  6. Brought back the News You Need feature (as loaded up relevant events. More to come.)
  7. Modernized the UI (This is not just cosmetic. End-user app features now work better/faster.)
  8. Improved overall stability and enahnced our up-time monitoring/diagnostics
  9. Overhauled subscription handling to ensure a smooth process for Premium users

A (official) ‘heads up’ before you commute

A (official) ‘heads up’ before you commute

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This page explains one or more of the dozens of amazing features found in Clever Commute Premium.

At the start of your commute, this feature sends an alert (per your notification options) to let you if your provider says things are On or Close (transit lingo for "no reported problems") .

This matches what you see at Service Status at your (train) provider's website. E.g.,  http://mta.info or www.njtransit.com

Example:

Of course, if the official info does not match what you see, your fellow commuters would appreciate it if you'd share the real status with them. 

 

You're In Control: 
Usage notes:

  • Adjust your My Commute times (via Settings => My Commute) to reflect your travel times
  • You will receive one notification for each commute time you have selected

Turn this feature on/off via Settings => Comms and Config => Alerts/Bots/Probes

More info about controlling these notifications: Blog post

 

MTA “Service Status” Reader

MTA “Service Status” Reader

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This page explains one or more of the dozens of amazing features found in Clever Commute Premium.

Our robots scan MTA's Service Status to identify emerging problems with the in-process commute.

 

Our algorithms identify "status" patterns to highlight looming trouble that the transit providers won't tell you about!

When a problem is severe enough, and it affects multiple branches, our bots let you know.
(something simple like "Planned weekend work" does not make the cut)

Premium users can opt-in to being notified via Settings => Comms and And Config
See notification options under Alerts/Bots/Probes.

We will also publish such alerts to the News you Need section of the app.

Note: Our implementations (NJT vs LIRR) are tailored to the differences between the data provided to developers by the transit providers. The MNR version is still in beta.

Here is an example of what Clever Commute Premium LIRR riders receive.

We brought back a great feature: “News you need”

We brought back a great feature: “News you need”

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This page explains one or more of the dozens of amazing features found in Clever Commute Premium.

A subtle yet powerful way we de-stress your commute

Tap on this:You'll then see this:Why it's cool

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A real-life example:

 

#1 - Color-coded to show the severity

#2 - The news you need

#3 - We call this meta-data.
Tells you when this alert was last edited, how long it's been up...and when it will automatically disappear

#4 - Dismiss
Archives the message and decrements the number from the previous page

 

 

The “Recent Alerts” page is very VERY rich

The “Recent Alerts” page is very VERY rich

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Here is a view of what a Premuim users experiences on the Recent Alerts page

Understanding  #1 (the top row of icons)

  • The bell is a quick link to 6 hour snooze
  • The middle icon is a link to news you need
  • The third icon takes you to the Participate page

#2 – Control your view

  • A count of current Vents and the opt-in switch
  • Turn on/off “message box” (which is #5 below)
    The message box contains tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Clever Commute

#3: The scrolling marquee

A broadcast message to all Clever Commuters

#4: An example alert 

Route, timestamp, category, train #, train description, alert, impact, reporter, geolocation and so much more