UW student creates new online tool for transit riders

SEATTLE — 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.

“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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