10 apps you might not know about that make living in Toronto better
10 apps you might not know about that make living in Toronto better
There are some things in life that never stop being annoying: getting rained on, or forgetting to pack your lunch again, or that truck that won’t stop parking in the bike lane near your house—that sort of thing. Luckily, there are apps that can help make the frustrations of living in this city at least a little more bearable. Here, our suggestions for some you may not have heard of.
See all 10 apps »
Read More
- 286055
- Need a reminder to take out the garbage each week? Want your phone to automatically text your friend each time you’re at the new coffee shop around the corner from her house? <strong>If This Then That</strong>, or <strong>IFTTT </strong>(Free, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ifttt.ifttt&hl=en" target="_blank">Android</a>/<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/ifttt/id660944635?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a>), is like digital glue for all sorts of apps and services. With it, you can create recipes that use factors such as your location, the time of day, or even the weather outside (that's the "If This" part of the acronym) to trigger actions, from push notifications to email reminders and more (that's the "Then That").
- For never again forgetting when to put the garbage out.
- For never again forgetting when to put the garbage out.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-IFTTT-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-IFTTT.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-IFTTT.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-ifttt/
- toronto-apps-ifttt
- 0
- 0
- 286056
- Yes, you can keep a digital backup of your keys now, too. With <strong>KeyMe </strong>(Free, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/keyme-digital-keychain/id663884543?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a>; coming soon to Android/Windows Phone), you take pictures of your house key, garage key—pretty much any key that you can have legally copied or cut. If you ever lose a key, the app will generate instructions for $10 that a locksmith nearby can use to cut you a replacement instead.
- Because you dropped your keys down a sewer grate.
- Because you dropped your keys down a sewer grate.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-key-me-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-key-me.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-key-me.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-key-me/
- toronto-apps-key-me
- 0
- 0
- 286059
- Want to know if it will rain where you are in the next two hours? Or the next ten minutes? Thanks to a mix of proprietary algorithms and ground-level user-submitted observations, <strong>SkyMotion</strong> (Free, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/sky-motion-highly-accurate/id527186983?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a>/<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skymotion.skymotion" target="_blank">Android</a>/<a href="http://www.windowsphone.com/fr-fr/store/app/skymotion/d295bf90-bc15-45f9-b89c-79a2911d5318" target="_blank">Windows Phone</a>) is weather forecasting done right. The app analyzes radar imagery within a sub-kilometre radius of any location to deliver a minute-by-minute forecast of upcoming weather conditions. Whether sunny skies or a summer storm are ahead, at least you'll actually know.
- For the weather forecast at your office and not some airport.
- For the weather forecast at your office and not some airport.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-skymotion-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-skymotion.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-skymotion.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-skymotion/
- toronto-apps-skymotion
- 0
- 0
- 286052
- There are certainly more capable and better-made apps for tracking your cycling through the city—<a href="http://abvio.com/cyclemeter/" target="_blank">Cyclemeter</a>, anyone?—but will any of them help improve Toronto’s bicycle infrastructure at the same time? That’s the hope, anyway, with the City of Toronto–commissioned app <strong>Toronto Cycling</strong> (Free, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/id875336818?ls=1&mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a>/<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brisksynergies.cycle.toronto" target="_blank">Android</a>), which gathers important aggregate data on users’ bicycle commutes for city planners, while helping you keep track of your distance, route and average speed at the same time.
- For making Toronto a better place to bike, while biking.
- For making Toronto a better place to bike, while biking.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-cycling-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-cycling.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-cycling.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-cycling/
- toronto-apps-cycling
- 0
- 0
- 286058
- There are all sorts of apps for buying tickets to your favourite events, but few that make it easy to preview the view from your seat (we’ve all bought that obstructed-view seat at least once, thinking it can’t be that bad). While not all Toronto venues are available on it yet, <strong>SeatGeek</strong> (Free, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/seatgeek-tickets-concerts/id582790430?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a>/<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.seatgeek.android&hl=en" target="_blank">Android</a>) will give you a better sense of whether those great seats you bought off a friend for next week’s Raptors game or Arcade Fire concert were actually worth the price.
- For those times when you’d rather not take someone else’s word on the “best seats in the house.”
- For those times when you’d rather not take someone else’s word on the “best seats in the house.”
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-seatgeek-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-seatgeek.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-seatgeek.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-seatgeek/
- toronto-apps-seatgeek
- 0
- 0
- 286054
- While Twitter may be the most reliable place to track your favourite food trucks and pop-up chefs,<strong> Street Food Toronto</strong> (Free, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/street-food-toronto/id516237990?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a>/<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tatlowpark.streetfood.toronto" target="_blank">Android</a>) is a handy app for finding ones you hadn't heard of. Some of the city’s operators publish their current locations to the app’s map, so you can see who's nearby, and others keep schedules of upcoming locations in case you want to plan ahead.
- Because you forgot to pack a lunch again, just like last week. And the week before.
- Because you forgot to pack a lunch again, just like last week. And the week before.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-food-trucks-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-food-trucks.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-food-trucks.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-food-trucks/
- toronto-apps-food-trucks
- 0
- 0
- 286057
- There are plenty of apps for finding the nearest Green P parking spots—and few that have been updated recently. The Android-only <strong>Toronto Parking Finder</strong> (Free, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.foragefox.parkingapp.lite&hl=en" target="_blank">Android</a>) goes a step further by cataloguing metered and free street-side parking too. The interface isn’t the most intuitive, and the free version has ads and limits the number of searches you can make each day, but it's great at finding you a range of parking options beyond the usual city-run lots.
- For finding a really good parking spot.
- For finding a really good parking spot.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-parking-finder-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-parking-finder.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-parking-finder.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-parking-finder/
- toronto-apps-parking-finder
- 0
- 0
- 286051
- <strong>Toronto Beaches Water Quality</strong> (Free, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/toronto-beaches-water-quality/id453031400?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a>/<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.tph.ws.beaches&feature=search_result#?t=W10" target="_blank">Android</a>) is pretty much the fastest way to check E. coli levels at your Toronto beach of choice. Choose from a list of locations, or use the map to find beaches nearby. It’s certainly not the prettiest app, and hasn’t been updated in a long time (as users of more recent phones will no doubt be able to tell) but it gets the job done.
- For when you don’t want to swim in poop.
- For when you don’t want to swim in poop.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-beaches-water-quality-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-beaches-water-quality.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-beaches-water-quality.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-beaches-water-quality/
- toronto-apps-beaches-water-quality
- 0
- 0
- 286060
- There’s a reason<strong> Transit</strong> (Free, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/the-transit-app/id498151501?ls=1&mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a>/<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thetransitapp.droid" target="_blank">Android</a>) was recently <a href="https://www.ttc.ca/News/2014/July/0722_Transit_App_BlogTO_Winner.jsp" target="_blank">endorsed by the TTC</a>. Beautifully designed and simple to use, Transit knows what routes are active and near your current location, uses the GPS on streetcars and buses for more accurate arrival and departure predictions where possible, and isn’t limited to the TTC: it also pulls in GO Transit, York Region Transit, Mississauga Transit—even Bike Share Toronto locations. Basically, it’s your mobile Swiss army knife for getting around without a car.
- For knowing that your bus home is another 46 minutes away.
- For knowing that your bus home is another 46 minutes away.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-transit-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-transit.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-transit.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-transit/
- toronto-apps-transit
- 0
- 0
- 286053
- <strong>DineSafe Toronto </strong>($0.99, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dinesafe-toronto-restaurant/id602002198?ls=1&mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a>)<strong> </strong>is a bare-bones app that uses City of Toronto data to display a list of nearby restaurants along with their food-safety inspection histories, which are available at a glance (you can also tap on each location for a lot more information). There’s no way to view nearby restaurants or cafés on a map, but you can search for restaurants outside your immediate vicinity using the search bar at the top of the screen.
- For when you suspect your pal’s favourite hole in the wall has a literal hole in the wall that mice are crawling through.
- For when you suspect your pal’s favourite hole in the wall has a literal hole in the wall that mice are crawling through.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-dinesafe-200x200.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-dinesafe.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-dinesafe.jpg
- 1000
- 1000
- https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/slide/toronto-apps-dinesafe/
- toronto-apps-dinesafe
- 0
- 0
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/life/10-apps-make-living-toronto-better/&title=10 apps you might not know about that make living in Toronto better&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/toronto-apps-intro-624x395.jpg&description=
[caption id="attachment_286062" align="aligncenter" width="656"] Click to view gallery[/caption]
There are some things in life that never stop being annoying: getting rained on, or forgetting to pack your lunch again, or that truck that won’t stop parking in the bike lane near your house—that sort of thing. Luckily, there are apps that can help make the frustrations of living in this city at least a little more bearable. Here, our suggestions for some you may not have heard of.
See all 10 apps »
[gallery columns="6" ids="286055,286056,286059,286052,286058,286054,286057,286051,286060,286053"]){kind=link}
#11 – http://www.honkmobile.com – pay for parking with your mobile phone! Look for us in lots throughout the city.