GoChicago, which helps users organize trips, wins app award
BY SANDRA GUY Business Reporter/sguy@suntimes.com August 29, 2011 5:22PM
Goethe and Shepard students dare to step onto the new extended observation deck at the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago. | Supplied Photo
Updated: November 16, 2011 1:30AM
The winners of the Apps 4 Metro Chicago contest are out, and they’re apps you can use.
The state winner at the SocialDevCamp event held Saturday is GoChicago, an app that lets users make a list of places in Chicago they’d like to see, view directions on a map or call the place for more information. After seeing a place, users can mark that “done,” and move on to sites unseen.
At any point, users can share their list with friends by E mail and link to websites.
Other transportation apps that won recognition were:
† SpotHero — Connects parking demand and supply information. Lets parking spot owners earn income by renting their spot when it’s unoccupied.
† FasPark — Helps drivers find street parking in real time.
† InThirty — Find city resources within a 30-minute train, bus or bike ride from your location.
† TrailBlaze Chicago — Records and anonymously reports bicycle tracks, and enables you to vote for new paths.
† SpotHole — An app currently available in the Logan Square neighborhood that lets users view existing pothole data and spot and submit potholes to 311 through a Google Fusion Tables open-data set.
† TreKing (Chicago) — An Android app that supports all four major transit systems in Chicago.
† Transitsocial — Search public transportation and socialize.
† ChicagoTXT — Get upcoming train and water-taxi departure times from any phone.
† Buster — A CTA bus and train tracker app for everyday users.
† See How Mobile — Calculates how “mobile” any Chicago address is by figuring the distance to the nearest “L,” train, Metra train, bus or highway. The app can compare those distances to every other location in the city.
† Chicago Rider — See nearby stops, favorite stops and real-time bus schedules.
The app developers used data from Chicago, Illinois and Cook County open-data sites.
