Developer Builds Real-Time Public Transport Map Covering All of Netherlands

A developer has launched OVspot, a real-time public transport map that displays trains, buses, trams, and ferries across the Netherlands in a single interface. Unlike journey-planning apps, OVspot focuses on visualising what is actively happening across the entire Dutch transport network. A key technical challenge was that not all operators provide GPS data, so the platform uses GTFS timetable data to mathematically interpolate estimated vehicle positions, including for ferry services to the Wadden Islands. OVspot clearly distinguishes between live GPS positions, estimated positions, and timetable-based positions to avoid implying false certainty to users. The project also required significant performance optimisation to smoothly render hundreds of moving vehicles with real-time updates on a single map.