More on FOSS for transit

I put my last post on free and open source software for transit systems out as a lifeboat, thinking it would bob on the waves of the Internet until someone — far from now — might read the post and wonder. I didn’t think I’d get a reply so quickly.

So I’ve looked further for options.

  1. I asked the American Public Transportation Association’s point person if she knew anything. Not FOSS, but here’s their list of bus management software. Which, I suppose, might help a willing amateur like myself ask the right questions in future.
  2. I did find this Linux Insider article from March 2008 about FOSS traffic management solutions, which cited a project at the University of California, Davis. Not transit, but I’d think there’s some room for overlap
  3. That UC Davis program and this project especially. Again, to inspire
  4. Then there’s the legal imperative in a number of European and Latin American governments to use fee and open source software where available. So perhaps something is out there, but not in English.

I’ll keep looking.

Help needed: FOSS for public transportation systems

Do you know of free and open source software (FOSS) for managing public transit (public transportation) systems? Especially small, bus-based systems. Perhaps I don’t know the lingo well enough, but all I can find are expensive, proprietary systems. You would think there was a need.

As in earlier requests, pointers to good association or government sites, or thoughtful blogs, are also welcome.

Helping Lower Walnut: a free antivirus

You’ll recall the Rev. Angela Mather and her cash-strapped parish in Lower Walnut, Maine: a use case for free and open source software and other solutions for congregations.

One of the problems she had was an old Windows computer that was sluggish and temperamental. A friend from seminary thought it might be infected with viruses.

But anti-virus programs cost money or lead you on with a limited version. But there is a free (intellectually and financially) version called ClamWin that she can use. There’s also a portable version you can keep on a USB drive in case you have to use a strange computer.