As my blog goes to github pages, so do my other side projects. I just moved nixi, my bikestation finder project, to github pages. Its new location:

http://wlach.github.io/nixi

I opted not to move over the domain: it would have cost extra money, time and hassle and I couldn’t justify it for the very, very small number of people that still use this site (yes, there are a few, including myself!). For now, nixi.ca will redirect to the github pages site until I decommision my linode server, probably at the end of January (end of Feburary at the latest).

This transition brings some other changes with it:

• Now using the citybik.es API directly, instead of proxing through an intermediary server. This was necessitated by the switch to github pages, but I suspect this will be more reliable than what we were doing before. Thanks citybik.es!
• Removed all analytics and facebook integration. As with the domain, it didn’t seem worth bringing over. Also, it’s nice to give people at least marginally more privacy than they had before where possible.

I still think nixi is worlds more usable than most bikesharing maps, even if it’s not an actively maintained project of mine any more. Here’s hoping it lasts many more years in its new incarnation.

I’ve been working on a new, mobile friendly version of Nixi on-and-off for the past year and a bit. I’m not sure when it’s ever going to be finished, so I thought I might as well post the work-in-progress, which has these noteworthy improvements:

• Even faster than before (using the Bootstrap library behind the scenes, no longer using slow canvas library to update map)
• Sexier graphics (thanks to the aforementioned Bootstrap library)
• Now uses client side URLs to keep track of state as you navigate through the site. This allows you to bookmark a favorite spot (e.g. your home) and then go back to it later. For example, this link will give you a list of BIXI docks near Station C, the coworking space I belong to.

If you use BIXI at all, check it out and let me know what you think!

1. As you may or may not have noticed, hbus.ca has been down for the past few weeks. Halifax updated the data but I didn’t have a chance to update it. Well, I finally did, and hbus is now up in its former glory (minus a small issue with stops named ‘6016_merged_3300509′: thanks Metro Transit, time to update that script to massage your data again!) . I still wonder a bit about why I keep putting time into a site oriented around a city I haven’t lived in for over 2 years now (especially when Google Maps arguably does a better job at most things than I do), but there you go!

2. NIXI is still up and being useful to me, though I’m a little bit disappointed by its uptake from the rest of the world (the site gets like 5–12 unique views a day). What do I need to do for you guys? A mobile version? French localization? I just added support for Washington (Capital Bikeshare) and Boston (Hubway), maybe it’ll get some uptake there.

3. Not really my project, but Stephane Guidoin put up an awesome site called zonecone.ca which helps you find out about traffic obstacles that might delay your journey. It even has a nifty feature where you can create an account, specify a route you take regularly (say, your commute), and it’ll automatically notify you if something pops up. As you may have guessed, I’m not the biggest fan of automobiles, but this is still very cool. 😉 This site was originally based on the map layout template that I announced a few months ago.

4. I have a lettuce plant growing on my new balcony. It’s doing ok, though it will probably have to be brought in soon due to frost. Will it get enough sun? Can I prevent my cat from eating it? Will it make a delicious salad? Stay tuned!

There’s much to like about the BIXI bike-sharing system in Montréal: it’s affordable ($78 for a year of biking), accessible and fun to use. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that it’s made cycling more of a main stream activity here in Montreal, which benefits everyone (even drivers indirectly gain from less congested streets).

With the arrival of the first BIXI stations in NDG, I decided to subscribe to it this year even though I have a bike of my own. So far, it looks like I’m going to easily use it enough to justify the cost. I still use my regular bike for my commute from NDG to the Plateau, but on the edges there’s a ton of cases where it just makes sense to use something that I don’t have to worry about locking up and returning home. Sometimes I only want to go one way (for weather or whatever other reason). Other times I want to take public transit for one leg of my trip (or day), but need/want to take a quick jaunt elsewhere once I’m downtown.

I do have to say though, their new web site drives me crazy. I’ve thought prety deeply about the domain of creating user-friendly transit-focused web sites, so I think I can speak with some authority here.

Leaving aside it’s value as a promotional tool for the service itself (not my area of expertise), the experience of trying to find a nearby station is complicated by a slow, multi-layered UI that requires repeated clicking and searching to find the nearest station that has bikes available. Why bother with this step when we can just display this information outright on the map? iPhone applications like Bixou have been doing this for years. It’s time we brought the same experience to the desktop.

Thus, I present nixi.ca: a clean, useable interface to BIXI’s bike share system that presents the information you care about as effectively as possible, without all the clutter. I’ve already found it useful, and I hope you do too. Think you can do better? Fork the source on github and submit your changes back to me! Minus some glue code to fetch station info server side, it’s entirely a client-side application written in HTML/JavaScript.

Note that the site uses a bunch of modern HTML5 features, so currently requires a modern browser like Firefox, Chrome, or Safari to display properly. I may or may not fix this. Other notable omissions include support for other cities with the BIXI system (Toronto, Ottawa, …) and French localization. Patches welcome!