In rural transit, a missed ride isn’t just an inconvenience. Arrowhead Transit officially launched its new rider app and transit management software system on May 4, marking a significant shift in how northeastern Minnesota's public transportation network schedules trips, communicates with drivers, and serves riders across a region that covers more than 20,000 square miles.

A public celebration and ribbon-cutting were held on Monday morning at the Arrowhead Transit facility in Hibbing, Minnesota.

Arrowhead Transit serves 10 counties, providing more than 500,000 rides annually with a fleet of more than 120 vehicles and a workforce of more than 150 staff, including union employees and professionals. According to an agency release, it is the largest rural public transit system in Minnesota and one of the largest in the United States.

The new Arrowhead Transit app allows riders to book trips from their phone, schedule rides in advance, track their bus in real time, and receive trip notifications and updates. Riders who prefer calling in can still do so.

Designed for How Riders Actually Travel

The app is powered through Arrowhead Transit's partnership with The Routing Company and the Pingo platform, which also supports the agency's internal scheduling and dispatch operations.

On the operations side, the new system gives dispatchers and drivers better tools for scheduling and routing, improves communication across the network, and helps the agency collect more detailed data on how riders move through the region. According to the agency, that data will be used to report service information to MnDOT and to guide future decisions about routes, timing, and coverage based on real travel patterns.

“This is about improving how people access transportation in rural communities and making our system easier to use in everyday life,” said Brandon Nurmi, director of Arrowhead Transit. “We serve a large region, and we know transportation is not optional for many of our riders. It is how people get to work, appointments, school, and stay connected to their communities.”

“Rural transit operates differently than metro transit,” the company wrote. Urban systems are often built around fixed routes and high-density corridors. Rural transit has to be built around people, distance, and access, matching service to communities spread across hundreds of miles, where a missed ride can mean a missed appointment or a lost shift.

Arrowhead Transit's new system is designed to make the service more responsive to how riders actually use it.

“When operations run smoother, our riders feel it,” said Sandra Wheelecor, assistant director, operations, Arrowhead Transit. “This system gives our dispatchers and drivers better tools, helps us schedule more efficiently, and creates a better experience for the people who depend on us.”