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    1. Technology
    2. Passenger Info
    3. Mobile Applications

    L.A. Metro partners with Transit app to help make riding and trip planning easier, more accurate

    May 19, 2020
    The Transit app will replace the agency’s own app, which will be phased out.
    Related To: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)
    L.A. Metro
    The Transit app is L.A. Metro's new official app.
    The Transit app is L.A. Metro's new official app.

    The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is partnering with Transit app to help make riding and trip planning easier. L.A. Metro’s agency app will be phased out.

    The Transit app offers:

    • More accurate real-time arrival information for buses and trains.
    • Step-by-step navigation with the app’s GO feature.
    • Comprehensive trip planning, including trips with transfers to Metro and other agencies, as well as info for Metro Bike and private ride share services.
    • Personalized service alerts, so riders can easily find the info they need about their bus and trains without having to wade through a sea of alerts.
    • Offline functionality including trip planning, route maps and schedules.
    • Tools to help visually impaired riders navigate the system and a commitment to accessibility.
    • Improved reliability that will also provide more consistent information across the Transit app, Metro.net and digital signage at stops and stations.

    “The improved app is very timely given the ongoing pandemic as we can no longer rely on transit data from the past,” said Conan Cheung, senior executive officer in Metro Operations. “There is a new normal in terms of transit demand and Transit gives us the ability to quickly get an impression of how the system is being used. That, in turn, allows us to quickly make service adjustments when and where needed.”

    In the past, L.A. Metro developed its own app, which the agency says was time and resource intensive. L.A. Metro is now pivoting to using an existing app that it thinks already works great. Ultimately, the agency says it chose to work with Transit because the app is well-designed and the trip planner is intuitive and easy to use.

    The contract with Transit, which was selected through a competitive Request for Proposals process, costs zero dollars and the partnership is expected to save L.A. Metro $240,000 per year in app maintenance and development costs.

    “With Transit as Metro’s official app, riders will know where to go and Metro gets an app platform to help build LA’s multimodal future,” said David Block-Schachter, chief business officer at Transit. “By choosing Transit as its app, Metro is letting riders know where to turn for accurate information and the latest service updates. We’re excited to work with Metro and to see more people using Transit as part of their daily routine.”

    Transit’s partnership with L.A. Metro enables data sharing that helps the agency improve service, while safeguarding privacy and protecting sensitive user information. As part of its commitment to privacy, Transit does not engage in background location tracking, does not sell location data to advertisers, and does not share location data with L.A. Metro that could allow individual users to be identified.