A new app aims to answer a common question for Kanawha County bus patrons: When is the next bus coming?
KRT Live gives Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority riders the ability to track buses in real time. On top of this feature, the app includes a number of other resources, like KRT schedules, fare details and a map of the Transit Mall.
KRT representatives were set up at the Transit Mall Tuesday morning, distributing promotional fliers and offering live previews of the app on iPads. Passersby were crowded around the area, trying out the app as they awaited their buses.
Douglas Hartley, KRT assistant general manager, said that "Realtime Routes" is the top feature of the app. Patrons can select a specific route and see exactly where the buses are located, as well as an estimated time of arrival for a specific bus.
"You can be at your stop, put in the bus and it will adjust the time based on how the bus is running," he said.
The app also links to KRT's Facebook page, which Hartley said regularly updates patrons in the event of route changes and inclement weather.
Future updates are in the pipeline, Hartley said, notably with the "Helpful Videos" section, which will soon include videos of routes and video guides that show patrons how to go about common tasks like loading a bike on a bus's bike rack.
The transit authority will also be rolling out a feature that allows patrons to send a text message that includes a bus's route number for immediate updates on their bus's location.
Since Tuesday morning, Hartley said KRT has seen a spike in the number of users who have downloaded the app. Feedback has been positive as well, with customers already leaving favorable comments on KRT's Facebook page and requesting new features for future updates.
Developing an app has been a long-term project for the transit authority. It has been on the minds of KRT officials for years, Hartley said, but was put on hold while KRT made route changes and adopted a flat fare system for riders.
"We didn't want to launch it before everything was right," Hartley said. "We made a conscious effort to delay this until we got all our ducks in a row."
Lately, the transit authority has been adopting the necessary technologies to make an app like KRT Live possible. Hartley said KRT has been working "nonstop for basically the last year" to install GPS equipment in buses to properly track their whereabouts.
KRT LIve is available to download now on iOS and Android devices.
Reach Jared Casto at jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4832 or follow @JaredCasto on Twitter.