Transit Arrivals by TXT Message

Arrival information for 3 lines downtown split across two SMS messages, displayed on an iPhone.

Update: This service is no longer supported. We recommend TriMet’s TransitTracker by Text service.

This is part of our series documenting the Transit Tools offered by Portland Transport

Not everyone has a web-enabled cell phone that can use our Transit Surfer™ interface. But most cell phones can do text messages. So we have partnered with a 3rd party SMS gatgway company called 411sync to offer TriMet (route and arrival data provided by permission of TriMet) and Streetcar arrival times via text message. You get back a very terse reply, like:

Streetcar to SW Lowell and Bond: 2m,18m,34m; 15 Parkrose TC: 3m,17m

For each line at the stop, you get the line identifier, terminus and the times of the next few vehicles.

You access this service by sending a text message to 415-676-8397 or sms@411sync.com with the following message text:

trimet <stop #>

Example:

trimet 2719