Ride On Trip Planner 5.150.0

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has partnered with Moovit, a global bus trip planning software company, to introduce the Ride On Trip Planner – an app designed for Ride On bus passengers to plan their trips and check bus crowding levels. This innovative app provides riders with the ability to assess the crowd on a bus before it arrives, enabling them to decide whether to board it, wait for the next one, or consider alternative transportation options like local transit services, bikeshare, or scooters. The Ride On Trip Planner empowers riders by giving them greater control over their transportation experience. Additionally, the app features dashboards for the Ride On Central Communications team to monitor bus loads and promptly dispatch additional buses when needed.

The Ride On Trip Planner app is user-friendly and available for download from the Apple app store. Users simply input their current location and destination, select the most suitable route based on their travel plans, and receive precise information about the arrival time of the next bus. The app also provides step-by-step directions to the bus stop and guidance to the desired destination following disembarkation. Riders can confidently use the app knowing that they will be notified when it's time to get off the bus, allowing them to browse other apps or surf the web without fear of missing their stop. An important feature of this app is its ability to alleviate stress about bus schedules and support efforts in reducing the spread of infectious diseases through its crowdedness indicator.

The development and implementation of the Ride On Trip Planner app have been made possible through federal funding obtained to enhance local travel safety and efficiency. This two-year pilot project will assess the effectiveness of combining Ride On passenger load monitoring with trip planning functionalities within Montgomery County and beyond. Feedback from county residents and other users will then determine whether to keep this application, expand its capabilities, or replace the current Ride On Real Time app.

The Ride On Trip Planner is built on Moovit's established native and web transit apps, which have demonstrated reliability and served countless users worldwide. Some notable features of the app include multimodal trip planning, encompassing options beyond Ride On routes, such as other local transit services, bikeshare, and scooters. Real-time arrival information and customized micro-mobility integrations are integrated into the application as well.

Accessibility is a key consideration in the development of the Ride On Trip Planner. It includes features benefiting users with disabilities, such as blindness or low vision, ambulatory impairments, and hand-motor disabilities. By enabling these individuals to confidently use public transit, this app assists them in maximizing opportunities in education, employment, and social life.

Moovit's state-of-the-art technology supports over 1.7 billion users across 112 countries and 3,500 cities. With partnerships with numerous prominent transit, mobility, and accessibility organizations worldwide, Moovit is a leading Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) solutions provider and widely recognized as the world's most popular urban mobility app.

For more information on the Ride On Trip Planner app, please visit https://www.RideOnBus.com/TripPlanner.