Baltimore buses just got more blissful

THE NEW BUS EXPERIENCE

It starts with our stalwart partners at MDOT MTA. The agency has equipped their buses with powerful new GPS trackers. Those real-time positions are then processed by Swiftly, a company that uses black magic (aka math) to process large volumes of historical (and real-time) vehicle data to predict where your vehicle will arrive. Like a robot weatherman, for buses. But smarter.

So far, so good. You’ve got MDOT MTA broadcasting precise locations from their new GPSes. You’ve got Swiftly taking those locations, and spitting out hyper-accurate ETA predictions. But how do you get those ETA predictions into your actual hands? With Transit, of course.

Years ago, when we first launched Transit in Baltimore, we set out to create the best mobile experience for riding the bus, subway, and light rail.

Baltimore’s public transit system is one of North America’s biggest. If we could improve its simplicity, reliability, and elegance, we could make a big difference. Millions of trips later, with over a hundred thousand Baltimoreans using Transit every month, MDOT MTA and Transit are teaming up to make sure Maryland has the best mobile app. Period.

It’s a great honour, coming from one of America’s leading transit agencies. To get a sense of MDOT MTA’s organizational moxie, just look at BaltimoreLink, the newly-redesigned bus network. Dozens of old bus routes, redesigned by the agency to be quicker, nimbler, and more connected. Plus, its work with the city to create dedicated “terra cotta” bus lanes, reestablishing right-of-way. Like a citywide red carpet, for buses to travel faster. It was the bold experiment that Baltimore needed.

We share that same experimental spirit, here at Transit.

By partnering with Transit, MDOT MTA gets all of the upsides of having its own app (local branding and customizations, data access, and a nifty dashboard) without having to manage a slow and expensive development process, tech support, GTFS troubleshooting or app maintenance. Today, they get the best app on the market, for free. In turn, Transit attracts more users, thanks to the agency’s endorsement.

Baltimore joins the ranks of other cities, like Boston, Las Vegas, Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal, whose agencies have endorsed Transit in lieu of their own proprietary apps. Now, MDOT MTA can focus on what they’re great at (pioneering bold, innovative, transit service on the ground) while offloading mobile design, development, and tech support to their friends up north.

Together with Swiftly and MDOT MTA, we’re bringing Baltimore bus riders a better experience. And now, with the agency’s endorsement, we can bring it to thousands more.

Haven’t tried Transit? You can download it for free for iOS and Android. Available in Baltimore, and 175+ cities.