Riders can download an app that tells them when their bus will arrive.
Frederick, Md (KM) Bus riders who don’t like waiting out in the cold for their bus to arrive have another option. Starting on Monday, December 5th, TransIT of Frederick County will start RouteShout 2.0, which is an app that can be downloaded on to a smartphone. It will tell passengers where their bus is located and how soon it will arrive at their stop.
“We get calls often if buses are delayed at certain stops. They’re expecting it based on the schedule time and things do happen. So I think this will help them in real time to see exactly where their bus is,” says Kendall Tiffany, Community Relations Manager for TransIT.
She also says riders won’t have to wait outside in the cold weather for long periods for their bus. “If they have a special stop that they go to all the time that might be at their work or near their house, they can actually save that as a favorite stop within the app. And they can review it from their phone inside and give themselves a five-minute head start to go outside,” Tiffany says.
The app can be downloaded from the App Store and the Google Play Store as well as any computer.
Passengers who only have a regular cell phone that can’t download apps can still take advantage of this service. “Each of our bus stop signs are being retrofitted. And they have a new decal that is going on top of them which has a unique stop i.d. So it will say ‘FTC’ and then three numbers,” Tiffany says. “A rider who is at that specific stop can text that number to 25252, and they will get an automated response back based on the next arrival time of all the buses that serve that stop.”
The automatic vehicle location system was developed by RouteMartch, which used GIS technology to determine real time of a bus’ arrival.
For more information on RouteShout, you can go to TransIT’s website at www.frederickcountymd.gov/transit, or call 301-600-2065.
By Kevin McManus