Wenatchee, Wash.’s Link Transit is launching a suite of online tools that will give riders more information about where their bus is, let them subscribe to notifications of delays and reroutes, and give them a way to provide feedback on service issues, all from their smartphone.

The initiative is the culmination of a nearly two-year long project to equip all Link buses with GPS hardware that allows the bus to be tracked by riders as well as Link Transit dispatchers and schedulers. Additionally, buses are equipped with automatic passenger counters that record where people get on the bus, and at what time. No personal information is collected through these passenger counters.

Riders can download the free mySTOP Mobile app from the App Store or Google Play. Once they have selected Link Transit from the list of transit systems, they can select their route or their stop to find out where the bus is, and how long it will take to get to their stop.

Aside from the benefits to Link riders from this system, there is a host of information provided through the system that will assist Link in making route and scheduling decisions in the future. Additionally, the technology allows operations staff to monitor route performance in real-time and make on-the-fly adjustments to routes and schedules in case of an accident or other event that will impact the route.

Link Transit partnered with Avail Technologies on the project. Avail Technologies provides intelligent transportation services to small- and medium-sized transit properties throughout the U.S.