SCRANTON -- The County of Lackawanna Transit System officially launched a new GPS app on Monday. The myStop app allows riders to track buses and plan trips ahead of time.
Sometimes, sitting at a bus stop can be lonely and frustrating, especially when you wait hopelessly for your ride that is late. Thanks to GPS-based technology, COLTS riders in Lackawanna County can actually track their bus rides through the myStop app.
"It'll give you information, real-time information regarding where their bus is at, what time it will be at their stop," explained Robert Fiume, COLTS executive director. "Through the app, you can also plan a trip, so you can type in your destination, where you want to go, from where, and it will plan your trip for you."
Soon, each bus stop will have a number. As you wait to get your bus, you will be able to type in that number in the app. The app will tell you when that bus is coming and where that bus is headed.
COLTS riders can also receive notifications, alerting them of detours or weather problems. Passengers find all this information helpful.
"That's really beneficial, especially just wondering 'Oh, am I going to miss the bus or make the bus?" Knowing that, hey, the bus is on this street, or it's coming this way or it's going to be a little late, it's really beneficial, especially in the cold weather when you want to stay indoors as much as possible," Dylan Wright said.
"It's pretty neat," added Tony Dwayne. "I've been standing outside sometimes for about 20 minutes after the bus is supposed to be there. It'd be very useful, when to know to leave my house on time."
COLTS hopes that the app will increase ridership.
"It helps make our system more user-friendly and people can save time knowing where their bus is at, planning their own trips and it saves frustration when you know where there's a detour and when you're alerted of those," said Fiume.
The myStop app is available on desktops as well.