New iPhone apps provide bus arrival and departure times to commuters

If you’ve ever taken a bus, you know the feeling of uncertainty over when your bus will come. You may have also felt the frustration of seeing your bus pull away, just as you arrive at the stop. Without access to accurate bus arrival and departure times, planning your commute can be a challenge.

Two Avego Futurefleet customers, BlueGo in South Lake Tahoe and TARTA in Toledo, Ohio, now offer their riders a quick and easy way to plan trips with confidence.

Avego created free iPhone apps for BlueGo and TARTA customers that provide reliable schedule information on bus services.

Users can find bus stop locations and route information on maps, check bus schedules, create a list of favorite stops for quick reference, and get directions from their current location to a selected stop.

Since launching the apps, many BlueGo and TARTA customers have relied on Futurefleet RTPI to take control of their commutes.

To see the apps in action, download them free from the iTunes Store.

Download TARTA app

Download BlueGo app

Any transit agency in the United States that wishes to upgrade their systems to Futurefleet™ is now eligible for a new Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding opportunity.  On June 27, the FTA issued a Notice of Funding Availability for $175 million in livability grants to help communities develop better transit options.

At least $150 million in Section 5309 Bus and Bus Facilities funds are available for projects that support the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Livability Initiative. Real-time Passenger Information systems like Avego Futurefleet™ are an eligible use of this funding.

Proposals must be submitted by July 29, 2011, and will require a 20% non-Federal match. Priority will be given to projects that fulfill the livability principles that serve as the foundation for the DOT-HUD-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

For more information about this grant opportunity, or if you have questions about other funding opportunities for purchasing Avego products, please contact Jason Conley, Avego’s Director of Government Relations at (202) 318-0108.

Notice of Funding Availability

More info on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities

More on Avego Futurefleet™

Futurefleet to provide bus times via SMS and web departure boards

Since 1971, the Toledo Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) has provided reliable and timely bus services to the Toledo metropolitan area. Today, TARTA operates 250 buses across 34 bus routes, serving nine communities while carrying almost 5 million passengers each year.

TARTA recently selected Avego to provide its popular TARTA Tracker services, which deliver schedule information to riders via SMS and web departure boards.

The TARTA Tracker By Text service sends riders estimated bus stop times for a selected stop directly to their mobile device. Riders simply text TARTA [stop ID] to 41411. For example, to find out what TARTA routes are scheduled to depart from Westfield Franklin Park, riders simply text tarta 11 to 41411. Stop IDs are conveniently posted at bus stops, and a full list of stop IDs is available to riders on the TARTA website.

The TARTA Tracker Viewer is an online departure board that shows riders the next buses departing from any stop they select.

Avego originally provided the SMS and web departure board services as part of a three-month Futurefleet pilot in 2010. TARTA quickly saw a high adoption rate of the new services, with several hundred riders regularly using the SMS service within the first month.

Stephen Atkinson, TARTA Marketing Director, said, “Futurefleet’s SMS and web departure boards services are a convenient, easy way for our riders to get schedule information. We’re committed to provide these valuable services to our customers on an ongoing basis.”

Contact Paul Steinberg in Avego’s Silicon Valley office to find out more about implementing Futurefleet in your transport fleet.