it’s like Pokemon Go, only with rodents
If you live in New York City, you’ve probably seen your fair share of rats. There’s the infamous pizzeria rat, Scubby the rat, the newly appointed rat king, and just a huge number of these animals walking around the city that never sleeps. Now, if you want, you can look for these rats in the real version of Pokemon Go thanks to a new feature in the Transit app. Kotaku told us more.
The Transit app provides a wealth of information for those without a car in over 300 cities: accurate train schedules, rideshare options, scooter rentals and more. It has become widely known as one of the best transportation apps, and although it is not exclusive to New York City, it is not even its official transportation app. But it also has an extra feature for those who live in the Big Apple: rat tracking.
The feature, dubbed “the great New York City subway rat detector,” was launched in early October after the Transit app “first asked subway riders to report rats in August,” said Stephen Miller, a Transit spokesman.
On the subject: New York authorities announced new rules for garbage collection: with its help they hope to get rid of rats
The results are updated daily and show messages from the last 30 days, Miller said. On a special page you can check the most ratty subway stations, enter specific stations to see information about rodents, and also learn more about rats in general, such as when these little creatures are most active.
What’s most remarkable, however, is how the Rat Detector works. Simply click on your nearest metro station or one you use daily and you’ll see detailed information about trains leaving and their destinations, as well as a little rat icon. Click on this icon for information on the rodent situation: Rockefeller Center has “very few rats,” but it still ranks 177th out of 445 New York City subway stations. Over the past month, it has received 128 ratings from Transit users.
If you want to use this app to either detect or avoid New York’s rodents, the choice is yours.