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aaronbrethorst | on: Ask HN: What are you working on? (November 2026)
I work on a suite of open source public transit software projects, collectively called OneBusAway (or OBA). The software is used by millions of transit riders every day around the world, including in New York City, the Seattle area, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.

University of California San Diego has deployed our Wayfinder and Waystation web apps for their 35,000+ students!

We're getting ready to launch our Vehicle Positions software, which replaces expensive, proprietary vehicle location systems with free, open source software that runs on commodity smartphones.

Our next-generation server software, Maglev, is adding support for newer transit data formats, like GTFS-Flex so that we can show demand responsive transit systems on the map.

We are always looking for more developers, biz dev, ux designers, product managers, and more to help out!

Open volunteer positions: https://ossvolunteers.com/organizations/open-transit-softwar...

Our software: https://github.com/OneBusAway/

More about us: https://opentransitsoftwarefoundation.org

HaloZero | parent | next
Just got back from parental leave at work but I found about yall a few weeks ago. Really hoping to help on your iOS side once things are settled.

I looked at supporting the Bay Area until I realized it needed a separate service to maintain it so something that the transit agencies themselves need to provide.

MisterMunchkin | parent | next
That seems cool. UK buses don't tend to have this kind of stuff, probably because they can't be bothered. It would be good to have a live map here.
el_oni | root | parent
Bus checker app has a live map, loads of buses here have live updates on location
aleda145 | parent | next
As someone who's passionate about public transportation and livable cities this is awesome. Keep it up!
elliottmoos | parent | next
I’ve been looking for ways to donate my time to this cause in a way that might actually be useful.

Shall be volunteering, thanks for sharing and keep up the great work!

aaronbrethorst | root | parent
Thanks Elliot! Please take a look at our contributors guide: https://opentransitsoftwarefoundation.org/onebusaway/contrib...

you'll find a link to join our slack at the bottom of it.

vcryan | parent | next
12 words in, I was like - this must be Aaron :) then I at word 15 I saw OneBusAway and I was like yep. Then I checked your handle, and it is you. TransitOPS-Ryan here - great to see you!
aaronbrethorst | root | parent
haha, hi Ryan! We should catch up sometime soon :)