ATLANTA, GA and LOWELL, MA--(Marketwired - Apr 18, 2016) - Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA), located about 45 minutes north of Boston, is a small urban city which supports 1.3 million transit riders and a growing immigrant community. Recently, the agency has experienced a groundswell of public support and use of their new real-time traveler information tool, RouteShout.
From the first day earlier this year when LRTA made the app live and available, the agency was inundated with users downloading the app to their smartphones. The agency now receives 11,000-30,000 smartphone hits per bus stop.
"The general feedback from the public has been very positive -- riders love it," says James Scanlan, Administrator at the LRTA. "Overall, everyone seems to be really excited about being able to easily find buses, routes, and rider information on their phones."
The "LRTA Bus Tracker" uses RouteMatch Software's RouteShout app to track and monitor buses in real-time. "LRTA Bus Tracker" app can be downloaded for free from Google Play or iTunes and runs on Android and iPhone devices. Enabled by GPS and mobile tablet technology on LRTA vehicles, RouteShout shows the user the location of nearest bus stop as well as when they can expect the next bus to arrive. The app includes integrated map features that display location of buses in real-time. Users can also learn about any changes to schedules in real-time, view specific routes, and see all the bus stops along a chosen route or routes.
Reaching Out to Gain New Riders
LRTA runs 50 vehicles over 18 fixed routes. In addition to serving the overall community, there are also several educational institutions in the area, including University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Middlesex Community College, and area high schools.
Knowing they had new potential riders to gain within the immigrant community, LRTA made a strategic decision to launch a public outreach campaign to market their new traveler information tool. With not much time prior to launch, LRTA is still currently running a three-month marketing campaign that includes local radio commercials, newspaper ads, and exterior bus ads promoting the new app. They also handed out fliers on their buses and in their bus station.
The LRTA Tracker has been put to use by riders throughout LRTA's service area, including trips to local hospitals, shopping malls, and places of employment. Commuters traveling between Lowell and Boston by train use the LRTA Tracker to check where their bus is as they pass through the area's intermodal transit center. Students at area colleges can use the corresponding LRTA Tracker web portal which also displays the same real-time traveler information to check on bus availability or schedules.
From an operational standpoint, LRTA's staff has found the mapping capabilities within RouteShout as an effective way to help train new dispatchers of routes and areas as it offers street by street views. The "Locate Me" functionality also helps tourists and immigrants unfamiliar with the city to find their nearest bus stop based on where they are.
"From a planning perspective, we have also found the reporting features to be very useful," explains Kevin McGuire, LRTA General Manager, "We can see where most riders downloaded the app and where they are using it, and that helps us make decisions on where to allocate resources to improve our bus service throughout the region."
"We're excited to be helping LRTA provide greater convenience to riders through the RouteShout-enabled LRTA Bus Tracker," says RouteMatch's Pepper Harward, Vice President, Transit Solutions. "They have done tremendous work reaching out to their community and gaining new, and diverse riders. We look forward to continuing our partnership with them and helping them build upon the good will they have established with their riders."
About Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA)
Lowell Regional Transit Authority's (LRTA) mission is to provide convenient, comfortable, safe, reliable, cost-effective mobility services contributing to the economic vitality of the region. The Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) began operations in late 1976, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 161B of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Authority is given general responsibility to develop, finance, and contract for the operation of mass transportation facilities and services within its territory. The LRTA is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts funded by federal, state and local monies, as well as farebox and advertising revenues.
About RouteMatch Software
RouteMatch Software is the leading provider of passenger transportation technologies that help transform rider experiences and engage communities. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA and works with more than 600 transit agencies across the U.S. and internationally, providing quality software and award-winning customer service. A team of more than 160 professionals who are passionate about transit address industry needs such as routing, scheduling, dispatching, billing, reporting, CAD/AVL, demand response and fixed route integration, traveler information services, mobility management, business analytics, and automated fare collection. Additional information about RouteMatch's ITS technologies are available at www.routematch.com or by calling RouteMatch toll-free at (US) 1-888-840-8791.
Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Brooke Phillips
RouteMatch Software
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P: 404-253-7839
