Rupert Linacre has launched Buslens, a new web tool that visualizes where you can travel by bus across the UK. The application allows users to select a starting location and view an isochrone map displaying reachable areas within specific timeframes. Built using open data, Buslens aims to help users understand public transport connectivity without relying on fixed timetables or specific journey planners.

The project is hosted at rupertlinacre.com/buslens and was submitted to Hacker News where it garnered 20 points and 8 comments. Discussion on the thread focused on the technical implementation, data sources such as NaPTAN and TransXChange, and the challenges of modeling bus networks compared to rail. Users also suggested features like fare integration and multi-modal support.

Linacre describes the tool as an experiment in accessibility visualization. The frontend uses MapLibre GL JS for rendering, while the backend processes GTFS and TransXChange datasets to calculate travel times. The source code is not currently open source, though the author has indicated a willingness to discuss the architecture.