Here's how it works: you sign up with TextMarks, and then show TextMarks the website that you want them to send to your phone. In the above example, we grabbed the text from a PDA-friendly prediction, which you can't get to from NextMuni site but you can hack into thanks to RescueMuni. (You can also use Skot9000's awesome NextMuni hack, if RescueMuni's isn't working.) Then, you just create a keyword -- in the above example, 2216HARRISONIN is the keyword, representing a prediction for the 22 stop at 16th and Harrison, inbound. And then you're done! Just text your keyword to TextMarks at 41411, and in a few seconds, you'll get a reply with your arrival times.

The downside to this is that you have to manually create a prediction for each stop in each direction on each line. That's a lot of work, and in keeping with The Spirit of Muni, we don't want to do a lot of work. So on our own, we created a couple of TextMarks for the stops that we use, and we invite you to do the same and then let us know about it. Together, we can build a biggish database of stops here and there.

Here's the format to use when building your keyword:

First the LINE, then the STOP, then the DIRECTION. So, the 22 line at 16th and Harrision, Inbound, becomes 2216HARRISONIN. (Sometimes you have to shorten the stop name because it won't fit.) Here's the TextMarks that are already set up; add yours in the comments.

2216HARRISONIN - 22 at 16th and Harrison, inbound (north)
3316HARRISONIN - 33 at 16th and Harrison, inbound (west)
3318THMISSIONIN - 33 at 18th and Mission, inbound (west)
33ARGUEGEARYOUT - 33 at Arguello and Geary, outbound (south)
5FULTONMASONOUT - 5 at Fulton and Masonic, outbound (west)
JCHURCH24IN - J at Church and 24th, inbound
JCHURCH24OUT - J at Church and 24th, outbound