Public transportation passengers in parts of Vermont will soon be able to buy tickets and track busses on their cell phones. It's part of an overall effort to move to a paperless system for what's soon to be known as Green Mountain Transit.Four and a half years ago, the Chittenden County Transportation Authority merged with the Green Mountain Transit Agency. Together the bus operators serve much of northern and central Vermont. In the coming months, both bus lines will operate under the name Green Mountain Transit.
In addition to the name change, Green Mountain Transit passengers will have a couple of new apps at their disposal. The first app to be rolled out will be an "automatic vehicle location system," called AVL.
"AVL will provide passengers with real-time bus tracking information straight to their cell phones, improving service reliability and allowing CCTA to communicate changes more efficiently," a press release states.
Last week the bus service also made plans to move forward with a ticket-buying app.
"On Tuesday, January 19, the CCTA Board of Commissioners also approved a recommendation from staff to go out to bid for a mobile ticketing system," a press release states. "A mobile ticketing app would allow passengers to purchase fare media directly on their cell phones prior to taking their bus trip. This app will provide convenience for the riders, eliminates the need to carry exact cash fare, and is one step closer to making CCTA/GMTA a paperless system."
Meanwhile, work continues on the bus service's Burlington downtown transit center, which is expected to open next fall. By that time the newly-branded Green Mountain Transit should have both the bus tracker and ticketing apps online.
