About
Why was GoHoos built?
GoHoos was built primarily as a more informative companion to TransLoc, with clearer tools for new UTS riders. GoHoos helps you see which bus to take, when to leave, and how routes connect across Grounds and Charlottesville.
The goal is to make that information easier to understand for first-time riders, while adding functionality that supports better day-to-day trip decisions.
Please keep in mind that this app is not intended to be a replacement for TransLoc. Since it is not affiliated with the university, a lot of features that are available on TransLoc are not available here (example: SafeRide).
Scroll down to see what has been built so far and what is coming next.
Start & Stop Selection
Not every rider knows which UTS line they need, especially if you're new to Grounds or heading somewhere you've never taken the bus before. Instead of boggling down in route details, the home page will recommend the best routes to take based on your starting and destination stops.
Get rid of the hassle of figuring out which routes to take and just let the app do the work for you.
Routes Explorer
The Routes page is built around UVA Transportation Services (UTS) and the major bus routes that connect Grounds, North Grounds, student neighborhoods, and key destinations around Charlottesville. Routes like the Gold Line, Green Line, Orange Line, and Silver Line are all listed in one place, along with seasonal and event-specific shuttles, so you can quickly learn what options are available to you.
Routes are organized into two tabs:
- Tab 1: Active — routes with buses currently on the road. These are the routes you can actually ride right now.
- Tab 2: Inactive — routes defined in the system but not currently running, such as lines that only operate at night, on weekends, or during special events.
Selecting a route highlights its path and stops on the map. You can search routes by name, toggle individual routes on and off, or highlight everything at once to see how the full UTS network fits together across Grounds and the surrounding area.
View live routes
Real-Time Bus Tracking
Live vehicle positions are pulled from UVA's transit feed and refreshed every 5 seconds. Each bus appears on the map as a color-coded marker matched to its route, so you can see exactly where buses are at any moment, not just where they're supposed to be.
Click a bus to open a detail popup with its route name, current speed, and when its position was last updated. When you first load the map, routes with active buses are automatically selected so you start with a live view of what's actually running.
Bus Capacity
(This is for all my people who park at JPJ or live at Faulkner/Lambeth)
Waiting at the stop just for a bus that is already full is not fun. When it passes by, you have two choices: walk to your destination or wait for the next bus. You just wasted your time waiting for a bus that never stopped for you.
GoHoos shows a popup with the exact passenger count (for example, 12 / 50 passengers) along with a timestamp for when occupancy was last reported, so you can stay informed and not waste your time.
In Progress
A few features that I'm currently working on:
- Home page start & stop selectionPick where you're leaving from and where you're going on the home page so you can see the best routes to take.
- More accurate ETAsImproved arrival-time estimates that account for real traffic, dwell time at stops, and current vehicle speed, so you know when to leave rather than TransLoc's rule-based "X minutes for each 100 yards" ETA.
- Break notificationsAlerts when a bus is on break or temporarily out of service, so you aren't just left waiting at a stop for a vehicle that isn't coming for a while.
If you have any ideas or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
Reach me at srp4da@virginia.edu or submit an issue on GitHub.