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    1. Technology

    MBTA Best Public Transit App Winner Identified

    Sept. 8, 2016
    The MBTA has announced its endorsement of Transit App as the best app for transit riders in the Greater Boston Area.
    Related To: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)

    The MBTA has announced its endorsement of Transit App as the best app for transit riders in the Greater Boston Area. The selection committee's unanimous vote for Transit App echoes the sentiment of the tens of thousands of Boston transit riders already using it every day. With an established, well-executed feature list and impressive roadmap ahead, Transit App will be a great partner to the MBTA.

    The contest to become the MBTA's endorsed app was announced July of 2016, seven years after the MBTA became a world leader in open data by releasing real-time data to 3rd party developers. In the years since, dozens of apps have been built on this data with diverse features and functionality. The MBTA decided to endorse and partner with the best of these apps in order to create a better transit experience for its riders.

    "Transit App's nearby departure times, push notifications for alerts, and step-by-step directions make it incredibly user-friendly. It greatly improves the customer experience, which was paramount when selecting a winner," said MBTA General Manager Brian Shortsleeve. "Partnering with Transit App also ensures that our customers will have an easy and convenient way to provide feedback which helps the MBTA continue to improve its service."

    Transit App boasts many useful features, including:

     *   Real-Time Schedules

     *   Departure Alarms

     *   Stop Announcements

     *   Push Notifications for Service Alerts

     *   System Maps

     *   Offline Mode

     *   Ride and Bike Share Integration

     *   Real-Time Trip Planning (Coming this September)

    "We're proud to be partnering with an agency that has been at the forefront of open transit data, and is now creating  another industry standard: working  with a single technology company to better serve transit riders," noted Transit App Director of Strategy & Development Jake Sion. "We're excited to collaborate on new innovative features, such as the ability for riders to directly report service issues to each other and to the MBTA. What's more, the data we receive from riders will be shared with the T to help support operations and planning."

    Selecting Transit App to endorse is just one of many steps the MBTA has taken in order to increase customer experience and satisfaction by means of technology. It follows other important updates such as real-time arrival and alert information for subway and buses. The MBTA has also introduced its Performance Dashboard (mbtabackontrack.com) to track reliability, ridership, and finances, and is regularly measuring customer satisfaction through its customer opinion panel (mbtasurvey.com). Technology will continue to play a key role in the MBTA's decision making towards improving customer satisfaction.