Q: What is RailBandit?

A: RailBandit is a Java (J2ME) application that runs on your phone, handheld or PDA and displays schedule information on upcoming trains. If your phone is equipped with a GPS, you also can track yourself while on the train and find out if you're running on time or your train is delayed.

The best thing about this program may be that it's easy on your data plan! In fact, you can use RailBandit without any data plan at all, because it doesn't need to access the Internet each time you make a request. It is also very fast and easy to use. Finally, it is a powerful tool that can help you find the right train or connection when it's not obvious.

Getting Started

RailBandit is a commercial product. You must purchase the program by registering it before you start using it. RailBandit is subscription-based, which means that you will have access to current schedules for the period of your subscription, and when that period expires, you can extend it. In order to register, you will need to have your unique license number. This number is shown in a special screen within the application. So to get started:

Q: How does it work?

A: Once you install the application to your phone (handheld, PDA), it first will ask you to select which train lines you are going to use and download them from our server. This is a quick one-time operation: you will be asked to do this only when you run the application for the very first time. Once the schedule is downloaded and stored on your phone, you're ready to use the program.

If you're worried about the memory it will use to store the schedule, consider that one of the biggest timetables, NJ TRANSIT Northeast Corridor, takes up less than 50Kb (this is including weekend and holidays information, and including the Princeton, NJ branch). In comparison, a typical MP3 file uses about 3Mb (60 times more).

Bottom Line: If your phone was manufactured within the last 2-3 years and it supports Java, it is almost certain that you can run RailBandit on it.

Q: What are the minimal phone requirements?

A: Java ME MIDP-2.0, CLDC-1.1. The minimum available memory per J2ME application should be 256K or more. Suggested total minimum device memory is 512K.

Q: How can I find out if my phone can run RailBandit?

A: If you are not sure whether your phone supports Java, go to websites like phonescoop.com where you can enter your phone model and see all the phone specs. Phonescoop.com (you can also try club-java.com) gives you details on Java support for your phone on the bottom of the page. For example, for Nokia 6103, is gives:

     Java (J2ME): Version MIDP 2.0
     Memory: 4.2 MB
     No specific per-application memory limits.

By comparing this information to the minimum phone requirements listed above you can conclude that RailBandit can be installed on it. Most phones manufactured in the last 2-3 years by Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, LG, BlackBerry and others do have Java support. If the J2ME specification is missing, your phone does not support Java, and unfortunately, cannot use RailBandit.

Q: What about schedule changes?

A: When a new schedule becomes available (this happens some time before it becomes effective) we prepare new schedule files and post them to our server. As a user, you can subscribe to our RSS feeds and receive notifications about new schedules by e-mail or otherwise.

When this information arrives, you can download new schedules to your phone using RailBandit, and they will be used starting from the date specified by the railroad. The old schedule is deleted automatically once it becomes outdated. All this happens automatically, without any input required from you. If you don't have a data plan, you can download a more recent version of the application with the most recent schedules built-in and transfer it to your phone.

Q: What are the advantages of using this method over an "all-over-the-web" approach?

A: Cost, speed, reliability and ease of use. Train schedules don't change daily - it simply would be impractical. Why pay for downloading the same information over and over each time you need it, if you can store it locally and the size of this information is tiny by today's standards? Because no exchange is required between your phone and a server, RailBandit is far more reliable than web-based applications: no need to worry about your connection or whether the server is up and running. It's all in your hands. The search is much faster and the user interface is much simpler because no server is involved.

LIRR schedules on BlackBerry. You can see all stop times along the route, and adjust connection times exactly to your preference.

Q: How accurate is the information in RailBandit?

A: We use publicly available timetables to get the most current schedule information. The schedule data is checked and double-checked before it is posted online. We use software tools to retrieve the schedule data - virtually no manual entry is used - so the data is as good as the one posted by the railroads. However, errors are possible. If we find an error in our data, we update the schedule files and make them available as soon as possible. We encourage our users to report any inaccuracies they find - all errors will be promptly fixed.

Q: Does RailBandit consider weekends and holidays? Does it handle connections?

A: Yes, unless it is specifically noted, it does consider 100% of all weekend and holiday schedules. Currently, it handles up to two connections. Our testing showed that it did a better job in finding optimal connections than NJ TRANSIT online trip planner. For example: ¹

Suppose you are traveling from New Brunswick to Newark Airport on a weekday morning. You must be at the airport by 7:00am. The NJ TRANSIT website advises you to take a train in New Brunswick at 5:35am, which arrives at Newark Airport at 6:09am. What if you missed this train by a few minutes? According to NJ TRANSIT, you must wait until 6:53am for the next train, and this one arrives at Newark Airport only at 7:31am - which means you might miss your flight. Our RailBandit has a solution: take a 5:50am train to Newark Penn Station, switch trains and then go one stop back to the Airport - you will arrive at 6:39am, almost one hour earlier than the direct train suggested by the NJ TRANSIT website!

This is just one of many examples when our scheduler gives better train directions than those available from the official websites. More importantly, of course, is that when you are at the station in a situation like this, most likely you won't have a website in front of you.

Metro North schedules on BlackBerry. With RailBandit you can plan trips involving up to two connections, up to two weeks ahead.

Q: What are other program features?

• RailBandit shows the next three, five or all trains (depending on your choice) within the next 24 hours between points A and B, with detailed listing of all stops.
  
• It shows peak hour trains, sub-optimal trains (trains you should avoid taking), and indicates stations that trains might leave early (as specified by the railroad).
  
• It stores the recent A to B pairs you entered so they are available with a single press of a button.
  
• It lets you adjust the required transfer times to your exact preference if there are any connections involved.
  
• It knows weekday, weekend and holiday days automatically based on the current time so you don't have to enter this information at all.
  
• It even notifies you of a different schedule if today or tomorrow is a holiday.
• Is your phone equipped with a GPS? In this case you can track yourself while being on the train to find out if your train is on time or delayed.
• It includes maps of your trip, map of any stop in your trip and for GPS-equipped phones map displaying your current location.
• With the latest version you can get live updates for commuter rail, subways and light rail

Q: Will RailBandit tell me about train delays?

A: Yes. Many people, after learning about RailBandit, ask us this question. Version 2.2 released in September 2009 has information on train delays from certain railroads. The following picture shows elements of the "Live Updates" interface displaying the train delays on Nokia Series 40 phone.

We plan to offer the same functionality for more railroads as it becomes available. Currently supported railroads that provide full or partial information on alerts and train delays are:

Q: How do I install RailBandit on my phone?

A: There are lots of ways to install it on a mobile phone. You can use Infrared, Bluetooth, Serial/USB cable or OTA for the installation. If you don't have a data plan, download the non-web version your computer from this link. Then transfer the jar/cod file to your phone using Infrared, Bluetooth or a data cable.

If you do have a data plan, point your phone to railbandit.com/wap and download the application. Our server will detect the device you are using, and redirect you to the appropriate link, so BlackBerry owners will be presented with a link to "RailBandit - BlackBerry" download, while everyone else will be directed to "RailBandit - regular".

Q: I have never installed Java applications on my phone. Where do I start?

A: This site is not intended to serve as a tutorial on installing Java applications to your phone: there are simply too many phones out there, and we cannot provide directions for all of them. Some brief guidance to get you started is below. First, make sure that your phone can run RailBandit.

  Option 1: Download over-the-air

If you can browse the Internet from your phone, you can simply point to railbandit.com/wap and download the application. If you don't have a cable, have never connected your phone to a computer and don't have an Internet plan for your phone, it still may be the easiest (in terms of effort and time spent) option to get such a plan and download the application directly to your phone. (It should cost between $5 or $10 per month, but you can turn it off at any time.) Some mobile providers won't charge you any additional monthly fee, but will charge based on the volume of downloads; for example 1 cent per Kilobyte. Given the size of the RailBandit application, such a download will cost you about $1.00.

  Option 2: Use a Serial/USB Cable

Alternatively, find out your phone model and how it can be connected to a computer. Most phones can be connected via a serial or USB cable. Use your favorite web search engine or your phone manual to find exactly which cable you need. Also find out if you can connect via Bluetooth or Infrared. If you decide on the cable, it's usually available from your phone manufacturer, but can also be purchased online on sites such as ebay.com for much less.

Depending on your phone manufacturer and model, and also on your computer (Mac or PC) you might also need special software (usually available for free) running on your computer to install Java applications to your phone. For example, if you have a Windows PC and Nokia phone, you will need the Nokia Application Installer provided as part of Nokia PC Suite. If you have a Motorola phone, install Motorola Midway Tool provided by Motorola. Owners of BlackBerry phones need BlackBerry Desktop Manager, and so on. Visit your phone manufacturer's website, ask your mobile provider - the information is out there available for those who seek it.

  Option 3: Bluetooth

Many new phones have Bluetooth. In order to use it for file exchange with a computer, your computer also has to be Bluetooth enabled. The software suites (such as Nokia PC Suite) mentioned above also support Bluetooth, and make installation of Java applications to your phone easier. The following link contains generic instructions on connecting a PC and a mobile phone using Bluetooth.

Q: Can I run the application on Windows Mobile Pocket PC?

A. Yes. In order to run the application on Windows Mobile PPC, you need to have a special program called "Midlet manager" that can launch J2ME Midlets. Some Windows Mobile devices have midlet manager (such as Esmertec JBed) already pre-installed. In other cases, you will have to install it yourself.

There are different "Midlet managers" made by different companies. We know about Titan, a midlet manager that works with Sprint Windows Mobile devices and used by some of our users. The following PDF document provides a detailed description on installing the program using Titan on Sprint Pocket PC device. Other popular midlet managers are Esmertec JBed and TAO Intent (discontinued).

Which manager works best on your phone however is something that only you can find out by experimenting - it depends on a particular device you are using. We suggest searching the Internet first, and talking to your mobile provider. They might be able to suggest a particular program. Here is a good description of the available options.

Q: How much does it cost?

A: For $7.50 you get registration that entitles you to software and schedule updates for six months. It gives you the right to use the program on one phone. If you decide to get a new phone, we'll provide you with one additional registration free of charge within the six month period, but not sooner than one month after the purchase.

You also can extend your subscription for one month for each new user you refer. Please read about the referrals below.

Q: What if I get a new phone? Do I have to pay again?

A: No. You are allowed to use the program on one phone at a time, but you can get the program installed on a second phone free of charge during your subscription. Use this link to transfer the license to a new phone.

Q: How do I renew my subscription?

A: Very much the same way as when you registered - by using the license number shown in the Register/About screen and filling out the Registration form. A couple of weeks before your current registration expires, the application will start showing you a message about the expiring license. Your subscription will not expire until six months after the purchase. The warning is given simply as a reminder.

Q: Which lines are currently available?

A: For listing of all available schedules, click here.

Q: When will the train schedule for my area be available?

A: If you are interested in making RailBandit work with a train line in your area, please e-mail us. With a few changes (mostly related to different holidays) the application can also work in Canada and other countries. However, at this time, outside the U.S. we cannot guarantee that all schedule changes will be updated on time.