Why did we make a map?
Every member of our group has faced some extent of confusion with public transportation. Whether it be because of unannounced cancelations, closed stations, or broken down vehicles, we have all been forced to use given maps at whatever terminal we were waiting at. However, these in-person maps are often quite confusing or outdated, and online navigators, such as Google Maps, do not function in places with little internet connection, as is the case with most stops for public transportation. Thus, we felt it could be useful to have a simpler way to navigate without the need of a stable connection, and wanted to do so in the most confusing system from our collective experiences — the New York City subway system.
What does it do?
The Big Definitive Subway Map of New York City (BDSM@nyc) offers a simple and interactive subway map that pinpoints which stations to stop at in order to reach a destination from the user's inputted current location. It highlights the current terminal, draws lines to connecting stops, and ends at the requested stop.
How we built it
Our program takes in user input of a starting and end point and the map returns a route of subway connections to take to get to the end point. Built in Python by uploading a database of terminal coordinates of stations in New York City.
Problem Statements and Challenges
We proposed 2 problem statements for our work:
- How do we make an interactive map of the New York subway system that does not require internet connection? This was the majority of the python code's work. We had to adjust for multiple problems with both the database and parsing.
- How do we make it different from existing map applications? Luckily, this was more of a marketing challenge than a coding challenge. We had to ensure that the application worked independent of internet connection in order to say it was an offline application that would work when online maps would not.
If BDSM@nyc had more time...
we would polish the display for the user. Eventually, we want to make it so it displays the shortest amount of distance or time, but it currently works by displaying the routes with the least stops. Our goal with the BDSM@nyc was to simplify travel in New York City, but our main goal with the BDSM project is to offer offline maps for numerous cities without efficient navigation systems. Moreover, we hope to adjust this to a proper application for mobile devices.
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