Riders of the Metro Area Transit buses, or MATBUSes in the Fargo-Moorhead area can now use a variety of apps to track bus locations, make mobile payments and schedule rides.
Taaren Haak is marketing manager for MATBUS.
"We offer a couple of different tools that help the rider on the day to day trips throughout the service; so our on demand live bus tracking can help you see how close your bus is to your bus stop. Maybe it's severe weather, maybe the temperature is a little colder or warmer than you'd like - you can wait until you see the bus is actually near enough before you leave indoors, so it helps you manage your time a little bit better. And we also offer trip planning which is integrated through Google Maps, so it's very easy to use and it's a platform people are already familiar with. So they can plan their trip in Google Maps just like they would if they were driving a car."
Haak says yearly ridership on MATBUS is at about 1.3 million.
Apps include the MATBUS Connect app, MATBUS Paratransit App, and TransLoc App. Riders can also track buses and check arrival times and delays through the MATBUS website.
Haak says these apps help to create a more personalized, convenient experience for MATBUS riders.