Download SEPTA’s first comprehensive iOS app

SEPTA launched its first iPhone app today, as well as free WiFi at 69th Street Station.

Download the free app here.

There’s a whole slew of SEPTA apps, including official SEPTA web apps and hacker-built web apps thanks to transit hackathons, but this app pulls many features under one umbrella, said director of emerging and specialty technology Mike Zaleski. The app lets you check all SEPTA schedules, as well as get real-time updates on where buses and regional rail are.

SEPTA wanted its own iPhone app so it could have an official presence in the app store, Zaleski said.

The transit authority is releasing the source code for the app so that hackers can improve upon it or use it for apps of their own, Zaleski said.

This doesn’t come as a surprise, as SEPTA has been on the forefront of the open data movement, releasing data and APIs and getting involved with hackathons before the city had a chief data officer or open data executive order. It actually launched the source code for the beta version of the app at last month’s transit hackathon.

The free WiFi at 69th Street Station will be the first WiFi at a transportation hub that offers access to buses, trolleys and the subway. Previously, SEPTA only offered free WiFi at Regional Rail stops like Suburban Station, 30th Street Station, Market East, Temple University and University City.

Over the next two years, SEPTA and Comcast will partner to offer free WiFi “to dozens of stations on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines,” said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.