Tomas Whiteantelope and Diana Barajas take AC Transit’s 49 line to get home from campus every day with no way of knowing if, or for how long, their bus has been delayed, once waiting over an hour for an arrival they expected in 20 minutes.

Waiting at the bus stop at Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way, Whiteantelope became one of nearly 2,000 people to download a new iPhone application designed by U. California-Berkeley School of Information graduate student Ljuba Miljkovic – searching for an application that would provide up-to-the-minute information about his commute.

“I’ll use it – I’ll use it right now,” Whiteantelope said, thumbing at his phone.

With the help of Miljkovic’s master’s thesis project, “Transporter,” public transportation riders like Whiteantelope and Barajas can keep track of arrival and departure times in the AC Transit, BART and Muni systems with real-time GPS updates.

“I wanted to try my hand at creating a great public transportation app for the Bay Area inspired by my own transit needs,” Miljkovic said. “Other apps didn’t seem to consider the entire life cycle of a public transit trip from before you leave the house to standing at a stop to sitting on board and finally disembarking.”

Developed with the assistance of School of Information graduate student Thejo Kote, “Transporter” features information on when the next bus or train will arrive, how long it will take to get to the next stop and when you will arrive at your destination – all accessible in real-time while in transit.

Adam DeMonte, a UC Berkeley junior and frequent BART rider, said the application’s live updates would be a time-saver. A week earlier, DeMonte said he had waited on the platform for 30 minutes before a train arrived, time he said could have been better spent elsewhere, because he only discovered his train was delayed after going through the gates.

Miljkovic was one of three recipients of the School of Information’s Dr. James R. Chen Award, given to second-year graduate students for outstanding final projects.

Other final projects from the School of Information, such as the online music store Popcuts and what became the UC Berkeley Events Calendar, have had success beyond their creators’ graduation.

According to the School of Information’s website, its program is “committed to expanding access to information” while maintaining privacy.

“With the evolution of technology, the school has maintained an innovative approach, as evidenced by these student projects and applications,” said Shirley Salanio, assistant director of admissions and student affairs at the school.

In July, Miljkovic will join the San Francisco-based design firm Adaptive Path as an experience designer. Adaptive Path focuses on creating products and services that deliver “great experiences that improve people’s lives,” according to Julia Houck-Whitaker, a research and development manager at the company.

Miljkovic said he will continue to improve “Transporter” in the future but wants to focus on design and user testing.

“I have a lot of exciting ideas for where ‘Transporter’ could go, and I’d like to partner with someone who could help with future development,” he said.