New app shows Cedar Rapids bus routes in real-time

Cedar Rapids has launched a new free mobile application designed to make it more convenient to ride public transit.

The app called Ride CRT - an acronym for Cedar Rapids Transit - tracks buses in real time. Transit riders can monitor on the go or from home or work via cellphones, tablets or desktop computers.

'Riders can watch the map as buses move along their route and time their arrival at the bus stop as necessary,” the city said in a statement announcing the software last week. 'This will eliminate the need to sit outside waiting for the next bus to arrive - a benefit that will be helpful year-round, but especially in the winter months.”

The app can be downloaded by visiting the website at RideCRT.com.

Ride CRT helps riders determine when the bus will arrive 'down to the minute,” according to Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids plans to launch free Wi-Fi on the buses, which is an add-on feature, within the first couple of months of 2016, said Brad DeBrower, Cedar Rapids Transit manager.

The app includes pertinent information useful to new and regular transit riders such as schedules, maps, routes and stop locations. The app show bus locations, indicated by colored markers, moving across city streets, and a 'routes” pop-up window shows the exact time a bus is due to arrive at each stop.

'Our hope is customers will use this to make riding the bus more convenient, especially reducing their wait times,” DeBrower said. 'The least enjoyable part of the bus is waiting.”

Bus users without smartphones can still use the program to locate their bus and arrival time by texting a number available on the website and posted at bus stops.

'Our goal is to make riding the Cedar Rapids transit system as easy as possible for current riders, and also to encourage more ridership,” DeBrower said. 'By providing better transportation options, we are increasing the overall quality of life for our residents.”

Cedar Rapids has a three-year contract with Ride Systems, a Utah-based company, to provide the service. The contract is worth $259,500 total, which includes $88,200 for GPS units, $18,000 for equipment, and $23,400 per year for data. GPS units installed on each bus feeds location information to a satellite to facilitate the program.

The contract also include auto-counters on each bus to track passengers and quantify the activity at each bus stop.

Cedar Rapids Transit has 30 buses. The agency saw 2.5 percent ridership growth in fiscal 2015, which ended June 30, to 1.4 million rides. Ridership is up 14 percent since 2010. Fares cost $1.50 for adults and 75 cents for student, elderly and disabled riders. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1.7 percent of commuters use public transit.

The new app comes as the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization is studying how to improve transit service in the area, including possibly realigning routes, although had been in the works before the study.

RideCRT is similar to Bongo, an app that has served riders in Johnson County since 2010. Bongo integrates routes and times from Iowa City Transit, Coralville Transit and University of Iowa's Cambus.