Living in Reading in the UK, I've been used to seeing a gradual computerisation of everything to do with the city's travel network, right down to electronic signs at some of the busier bus stops - it's clear that there's now computer awareness of all trains, buses and roads. Which begs the question as to why some or all of this data couldn't be put online for Joe Public to access. There's now an answer for Reading (and for several other UK cities), thanks to mxData and their new MetroTV mobile application, screenshots and details below.

MetroTV is a Java application, first reported on here and available from the mxData web site. The mobile application is also available for York, Sheffield, Birmingham and Stratford Upon Avon. it has a typical Java 'feature phone' interface, but in this case the functionality offered by the system outweighs any cosmetic concerns. If the system takes off, of course, then more spit and polish and perhaps even an S60 version of MetroTV might become a possibility.

So it's Java? I'll press on regardless...

I liked the way everything's map-based, or at least map-illustrated, giving a real sense of perspective and locality

You can zoom in and out and pan around, with the d-pad bringing up the main menu

Choosing 'Live information' brings up the option of 'Bus stops' (171 of them in Reading's case), Roadworks, Car parks, CCTV, Railway stations and VMS (live road travel signs). Above is me drilling down to find out about conditions in one of the main car parks - in this case, nearly empty as it was early in the morning.

Let's look at the CCTV camera next - no, not those observing criminalsshoppers, silly - we're talking road CCTV here...

Let's look at bus stops next, just pick a stop and you can see live timetable and delay information. Impressive!

'Roadworks' curiously also includes incidents such as accidents, but you do get full information in either case, again tied in neatly to the main map.

The vehicle information displays can be queried to see what they currently say.

The user experience of MetroTV on a smartphone is a bit disappointing - for example, to go 'back' within the interface, you can't just press a soft key - you have to scroll all the way up or down the current menu or set of information in order to find the 'Back' function, but I'm sure a version 2 of the Java application is well on the way.

What's important here is the opening up of real-world-useful information to the likes of you and I. When, at the bus stop, your partner sneers at you for getting out your geek phone for the umpteenth time, you can calmly tell him or her that the next bus is the 10.15 and that it's currently running 6 minutes late, so he/she's got time to nip into the shop for that packet of crisps after all....

You can play with the application, too, just pick the city you want to spy onget involved with and try it out. Comments welcome!

Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian