The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Monday it partnered with a Canadian company to replace its smartphone app and collaborate on improving real-time bus and train arrival information.
Metro said riders can download the app, Transit, as a replacement for Metro’s GoMetro app, which is outdated and will be phased out.
“Now, more than ever, we need to provide riders with the tools they need to get around Los Angeles County, and this app does that extraordinarily well,” Inglewood Mayor and Metro Board Chair James Butts said. “At the same time, this will also provide Metro with higher-quality data that will allow the agency to respond more quickly to riders’ changing needs as Los Angeles County recovers from this pandemic.”
The Transit app will provide an improved customer experience, including accurate real-time arrival information for buses and trains as well as step-by-step navigation with Transit’s GO feature, according to Metro.
Riders will be able to plan trips with transfers within Metro and to other agencies, along with the ability to combine public transit with options like Metro Bike Share and private rideshare services.
Customers can personalize their service alerts and set favorite lines.
Additional Metro features are expected to be integrated into the app in the future.
“With Transit as Metro’s official app, riders will know where to go, and Metro gets an app platform to help build Los Angeles’s multimodal future,” said David Block-Schachter, Transit’s chief business officer.
Transit’s partnership with Metro enables data sharing that helps Metro improve service, while safeguarding privacy and protecting sensitive user information, according to the transit agency.
Transit does not engage in background location tracking, does not sell location data to advertisers and does not share location data with Metro that could allow users to be identified.
The contract with the Canadian company costs zero dollars and the partnership is expected to save Metro $240,000 per year in app maintenance and development costs, according to Metro officials.
“This is a win-win for riders, taxpayers and Metro, as it will allow us to focus on improving our system while allowing our partners at Transit to continue providing an innovative mobility tool that many of our riders are already familiar with,” Metro CEO Phillip Washington said. “We look forward to working with Transit to add more features that help make getting around Los Angeles County even easier.”
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