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Transport tracker

Applications for tracking moving assets on a live map

From googlemaps·Updated June 17, 2026·View on GitHub·
·Archived

**_NOTE:_** This demo application is no longer functional as it has multiple dependencies that must be updated. The project is written primarily in JavaScript, distributed under the Apache License 2.0 license, first published in 2017. Key topics include: bus.

NOTE: This demo application is no longer functional as it has multiple dependencies that must be updated.

Google Transport Tracker

Google Transport Tracker is a set of applications designed to track a
range of moving assets (such as vehicles) and visualize them on a live map. The
applications use a mixture of technologies - Android, Firebase,
Google Maps, GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification), and more.

Note: This application implements asset tracking. For use in a production environment, you therefore need a Google Maps APIs Premium Plan license. For more information, see the Google Maps APIs terms of service.

Overview

This is the open source release for the
I/O Bus Tracker.

The repository consists of a number of components, representing the individual
moving parts of the bus tracking system. It includes an Android app,
in /android, that's installed on Android devices and deployed on the tracked
vehicles, along with a matching administration UI in /admin.

The repo also contains the display side of the system, designed to drive 60"
LCD TVs. There is /backend, written in Node.js and running on Google Compute
Engine, which receives the locations reported by the Android app, along with a
time table provided in GTFS format, and makes regular updates to a Firebase
Real Time Database. The client in /map receives the updates from the Firebase
database and draws them on the LCD TV.

Getting started

See the developer documentation.

Directories in this repo

The project contains the following subdirectories, each housing
a single component:

admin

A web interface for administrators to see a quick overview of all the
assets being tracked.

android

The Android app that resides with each asset to be tracked.
Once configured, this app keeps its location synced with Firebase, and reports
on other metrics, such as battery life.

backend

The server-side component that manages the state of the Firebase database. For
a tutorial on this component, please see
Transport Tracker Backend codelab

map

The public web interface that displays schedule information and asset
locations. For a tutorial on this component, please see
Transport Tracker Map codelab

This is not an official Google product.

Contributors

Showing top 4 contributors by commit count.

View all contributors on GitHub →

This article is auto-generated from googlemaps/transport-tracker via the GitHub API.Last fetched: 6/22/2026